Guardians of Olympus: The Wrath of Python
by The Mind of a Madman
Summary: When Rachel issues her first Prophecy in 10 years summoning 4 unclaimed heroes to rescue Artemis and Delphi, 4 new heroes must overcome their differences to stop Python, helped by the Legendary Heroes of the Prophecy of Seven
1. Chapter 1

Miles Donovan

Son of Zeus

Good natured

Born leader

Linebacker/Wide Receiver and Captain on high school team

1 younger sister

Beats up pedophiles for a gang

Arrested for beating an elementary school principal within an inch of his life for molesting his sister

Born in Detroit

Lucas Walsh

Son of Hermes

Streetwise

Clever

Loves to play the hero

Professional thief, conman, and hitman

Amateur artist

Estranged from his socialite family

Goes by the street name 'Magic Man' because he makes people dissapear

Learned to pick pockets and con from an old hobo with no name

Mom is addicted to Oxy and Alcohol and abused her son to the point of running away

Shapeshifter

Born in New York

Daniella Manzetti

Daughter of Poseidon

Sweet

Caring

Mama Bear

Vengeful

Amateur MMA fighter

Ex-cheerleader

Tomboy

Fireproof

Her mom sent her to a school for high society girls, where she was abused, assaulted, humiliated, and almost molested. This only stopped when she broke her abusers nose and ran back home

Became withdrawn and depressed until age 13, when her younger sister was sent to the same school unknowingly. Daniella broke into the school and brought her home, minutes before her roommate was abused

Born in Santa Monica

Roxanne 'Roxie' DuPont

Innocent

Naive

Headstrong

Daughter of Hephaestus

Top ranked online gamer

Superb hacker

Secret identity: R3 P3R (online name and Watch Dogs like vigilante)

Youngest of 3, 2 brothers

Collects MLP figurines, and keeps Rainbow Dash with her at all times, the only gift from her dad

Terrified of the ocean

Moral compass of the group

Born in New Orleans


	2. Where it all began

[The time is midnight, hours after the Feast of Fortuna on Camp Half-Blood. Both Greeks and Romans came together for the celebration of the luck goddess in the hopes of good fortune for both factions. In the 10 years following the prophecy of seven, the camps had agreed on becoming a mutual force for Olympian justice. While Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood remained separate, the two worked together to put as many demigods as possible off the streets and into the training. It was their hope that the combined forces would ward off any potential threats. And potential was all they had to go on. In the Big House stood Rachel Dare, the Oracle of Prophecy who had very little too prophesies in the time after the Prophecy. Ever since Python had taken hold of the Oracle in Greece, the girl had spouted no magic words of rhyming quests in 10 years. Both camps were left to wander blind, building up massive fortifications on a whim because they had no idea what, if anything, was going wrong. As storm clouds gathered over the hill, Rachel sighed and thought back to all those years ago, when she had dumped Percy and become the Oracle. She had cited destiny as her reasoning, but 10 years of silence had the woman convinced that 'destiny' was a load of Minotaur crap. As the clock reached midnight, both Chiron and Mr. D wandered in, settling into their routine. They observed Rachel for the night in the hopes of gleaning just how to fix their Prophecy constipation. "Anything Regina?" Dionysus mumbled, hammered as always. "Rachel." Chiron corrected, more out of habit than actually caring. But just as Rachel went to speak, she coughed once, then again. Then a third time, and the Woman released a massive eruption of green smoke as the Spirit of Prophecy roared back to life, maybe with its dying breath. The smoke swirled before taking the form of Python. The beast hissed, filling the room with foul smelling fumes as he began to speak.]

 _["The unclaimed will come from quite afar_  
 _"And follow the light of the dying star_  
 _"Across the sea to where the twins were bred_  
 _"Steal the key from the talking heads_  
 _"Save the Huntress from the foe unnamed_  
 _"Lest the God of Thunder earn his claim"]_

[Finally the smoke faded as Rachel collapsed into Chiron's arms. Mr. D dragged an Apollo camper out of bed to work some healing magic as the God of Wine pondered the Prophecy with the centaur. "Our first Prophecy in 10 years and all we know is it's for heroes we don't have?!" Chiron griped at the lines. "That's not our biggest question. What in Olympus is Zeus claiming?" Dionysus complained. The old god sighed and snapped up some wine. "I miss the simple days of Perry Jenkins and Annabelle Charles or whatever their names were." D lamented as he drank. Chiron sighed and looked out at the storm. "For all our sakes, let's hope these 4 aren't as bad as Jackson was."]

 _[Detroit, MI_  
For all it's flaws, it was hard to trash Detroit if you were raised there. The Motor City had a way of beating survival instincts into everyone who lived there in an attempt to keep them alive. But like on a lot of cities, you sink or swim on your own merits. And currently busting his ass to stay swimming in the dead of a bitter Michigan night was Miles. The 6 foot bruiser lives by a very simple motto in the city: if you are talented and born in Detroit, abuse the talent until you can either leave Detroit or run it. In his case, Miles has the option of both. By day he was an athlete, wracking up TD's for the varsity team as the schools star tight end. And by night, Miles moonlighted as something of a vigilante. Working for a street gang, Miles beat the crap out of two kinds of people for his boss: those who owes money, and those who touched kids. He had a particular affinity for kicking the shit out of pedophiles because of one person: Kiera, his sister. Kiera had been the victim of repeated abuse by her school principal, along with 3 other girls. The principal would have them stay in for recess for 'disciplinary reasons' before molesting them. After 3 months Kiera broke down and told Miles, who responded by beating the principal within an inch of his life. Both got arrested, but the gang fixed the trial so Miles got off with a catch: that he crack some skulls for the gang in return. And this was where Miles found himself that night. Standing outside the house of a man he knew nothing about, other than he touched kids. 'Good enough for me.' The athlete thought as he went about entering the house. Now most hired killers enter their targets homes quietly to leave no trace. But this is Street justice and subtlety is boring, so Miles opted to bull rush the door off its hinges. The wood splintered under his weight, allowing Miles to get the drop on the startled guy who owned the place, and his target: Will Davis, who Miles has been told owed $4000 in gambling debts and had touched 3 boys. "You boutta pay up tonight!" Miles laughed as he jawed the pedophile, bringing him down. The athlete put him in an arm lock and went about shattering the arm. "AJ wants his money now Davis! Where's the fucking money?" Miles demanded. Will didn't answer, so Miles broke both his arms. "Can't play poker with no arms dumbfuck! Where's the fucking money?" Miles asked again, this time taking his legs. "Get off me you psycho!" Will pleaded, earning no mercy from Miles. "That what those boys said to you Will before you touched em? That's the wrong goddamn answer!" The teen threatened before the legs went next. Finally Miles simply resorted to pummeling Will Davis, savoring the power he felt and the control over the mans life. Then the sirens, a common background sound in Detroit. "Son of a bitch!" Miles growled, hopping up and ducking out the back door. The athlete scrambled into the driveway and found a dirty white van parked as the sirens got closer. "Always a white van, why is it ALWAYS a white van?!" Miles groaned as he shattered the drivers side window with a rock and hopped in. "I mean, is it too much trouble to ask for a creeper who can pay his debts with a FAST CAR?" He went about hot-wiring the van as the cops came screaming down the block. "Come on you piece of shit, start!" Miles yelled, cursing as the wire cut his hand, but the old van roared to life. Miles floored it down the street, catching the attention of two squad cars on their way to the house. The fleeing suspect was pretty successful in the chase until he wrapped the van around a light pole and ended up smashing through the windshield. Miles scrambled up and sprinted away as the officers followed him into what quickly became a dead end. "Huh. I wish I knew these alleys better." Miles groaned as he found himself getting arrested...again.]

 _[The Bronx, NYC_  
Being born in the city could be both a blessing and curse. An unsupervised kid could find a lot of ways to get himself into trouble. But if the kid was smart enough, trouble turns into business. And for Lucas, his business was making trouble disappear. At 14, Lucas was still seen as a rookie in the conman game. But the kid possessed a certain set of skills that led to a rather lucrative, if illicit side business of killing people. Lucas had the look of a shifty eyed troublemaker that no teacher wanted in their class. But he found that books offered him little that would help in the real world, something he was exposed to rather quickly thanks to his train wreck of a mother. But what truly made Lucas different was his gift. Since the very beginning, the blonde haired kid had possessed an odd ability that let him shape shift into whatever animal suited his needs. It made hit jobs a cinch, because no one is ever looking for a full grown silverback during a murder case. But Lucas did his best to not rely on his powers. As he liked to put it, shapeshifting is great but trusting your own skills is better. The risks were always high but Lucas had was greedy and took any job worth his price. That's how the hit man found himself at the back door of a multi million dollar apartment complex in Central Park West. The job was supposed to be simple: pick the lock on the back door, ride the service elevator up to the penthouse, sneak in, and off some rich couple behind on payments for something illegal the job left unspecified. Lucas preferred to avoid dealing in the specifics of his targets, so the reason these people needed to disappear wasn't important. "Okay. Let's do this." The hit man made quick work of the security door and made his way over to the elevator, avoiding the cameras along the way. The elevator took a minute to start up before jolting and creaking it's way to the top floor. "Stupid death trap." Lucas muttered, trying to settle himself out of his fear. Elevators were bound to get him killed someday, Lucas was sure of that. The metal coffin finally reached the top, sending gate clattering open. He sort of stared at it for a moment, astounded that his client expected stealth with these circumstances. "Oh fuck it, lemme do this shit." The rookie assassin known as Magic Man kicked the door in, throwing subtlety to the wind as he went to the main bedroom. He opened the door to be jumped by 5 cops. "What the hell is this?!" Lucas exclaimed as he was cuffed. "This is a sting operation that will go down as a success." A female detective tainted as the officers dragged Lucas off the floor. "Wait a minute you gave me this job! That's entrapment!" The kid exclaimed as he made eye contact with the detective. "And whose my boss gonna believe? A highly decorated cop or another criminal claiming bad police work. But don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to work on your defense serving life." She chuckled, leaning out of the way as Lucas swung at her, only to be dragged out fighting.]

 _[Hollywood Hills_  
Being a thief had its ups and downs. Some days you had a haul to last all year, and sometimes your in a crazy cat lady's house. But as any good thief will tell you, the answer to adversity is persistence. If you want that tourists wallet, take it. If he fights you, fight him. When he's down, stomp him. And if his wife calls the cops...run. In the levels of thieves Daniella Manzetti was the cream of the crop in what most street thugs affectionately referred to as the Junior Circuit. The JC was the term that encompasses anyone under 18 that considered themselves a professional thief. She was master of breaking into places, stealth, and taking whatever wasn't nailed down. And Dani was the queen of persistence, sometimes returning to the same house a few times if she was unsuccessful in her first attempt. Some of the top players in the Junior Circuit resented Daniella for both her rise to infamy and the fact that a 14 year old girl was stealing far more effectively than them. But all these details were of little concern to the blonde as she stalked the shadows of a suburban house. Daniella had planned this score meticulously as always, and finally got the perfect moment when the car rolled down the street, leaving the house empty. She had gotten the job from a normally reliable source, Eddie, an old school robber who now helped young guns get their start. Dani slipped in through and open window and quickly took note of her surroundings. Deciding that the coast was clear, the girl went about picking over the house for valuables. She knew that it was morally wrong, but her mom had stopped with the handouts ever since she rescued her sister from that awful school. The Janet Hoffman School for Society Girls was the worst thing to ever happen to Dani and her sister Hannah. Daniella had been sent there by her mother because she was a tomboy, and clashed with her mother's high society tastes. The school promised to be nurturing environment for girls of high society, but when the parents when away it turned into a prison for rich girls. The girls were beaten, demeaned, and humiliated in every way imaginable in an attempt to break girls to fit the mold. And those who were deemed troublemakers found themselves suffering a very specific brand of punishment from the headmaster, a scary bastard who went by Mr. Rogers, ironically. In the open, girls were paddled until they couldn't sit for weeks. Privately, Mr. Rogers would force himself on the girls until he felt they had learned their lesson. The day Dani had almost met the same fate as many of the other 'troubled' girls was also her last day at the school. After the tomboy was caught smuggling the one girly thing she owned, a Rarity plush doll that was the only gift from her father, Mr. Rogers dragged the blonde into his office for her punishment. But as he reached for the paddle, Dani tripped him and jumped out the window, hitchhiking her way home with nothing but 4 dollars, a pack of skittles, and her pony plush. Her mom didn't believe her upon arriving home, and Daniella withdrew into herself. That was until Hannah was sent to the same school without Dani knowing. The elder sister took it upon herself to rescue Hannah from the nightmare of a school, and as a reward for her efforts Daniella was kicked out of her own house at 13. Which is why she turned to crime, and why Dani found herself robbing these people. And everything was going swell until someone started to open the door. "Shit." The blonde whispered. She made for the back door, only for that to open as well. Seeing one option, the thief jumped out the window, directly into the waiting arms of a cop. "Uh...I plead the 5th?" Daniella stuttered as the cop dropped her face first on the ground. As she was lead into the car she discovered Eddie the set up man hanging around the cops. "Eddie you slimy son of a bitch, you set me up!" Dani screamed as she was shut in the car. "The kingpins paid good money to see you locked up Queen. Sorry." The old man shrugged as he wandered off.]

 _[New Orleans, LA_  
In the suburb of Elmwood, far from the party scene of the French Quarter, there was a family. A mother, 2 boys, and a 12 year old girl. She went by Roxanne, Roxie to her friends, Rox to her brothers. Their house was nice, their school was nice, everything was perfect save for one thing: a father. Roxie had been without a dad since birth, the last child of the DuPont family. It was hard to keep the house going with only one income, but the girl kept her mind occupied with her talents. Roxie was a computer whiz, a top ranked gamer and notoriously good hacker. So good, her talents had gotten recognition from criminals around the world. The girl freelanced her services to anyone willing to pay top dollar, and rewarded the payday with whatever cyber weapons she needed to do a job right. She also had a passion for My Little Pony collectibles, but it made her sound less awesome to criminal enterprises, so only her brothers and friends knew about the brunettes collection. As all these arrests were taking place, Roxie was kicking back in front of her computer waiting for Overwatch to load up. The girl was lazily laying across her keyboard playing with her Rainbow Dash figurine, the only gift her dad had ever given her. As the girl tried to untangle her hair from her headphones, her tower started making a grinding sound. Roxie looked up and realized her computer had crashed. "What the hell?!" She exclaimed as the screen flashed for a few moments before the gnarly face of Hephaestus appeared on the screen. "Gah! Evil gargoyle!" Roxanne exclaimed as she tumbled out of her chair. "I see I got into your system okay." The mechanic god chuckled as the girl scrambled up. "Wait...how are you doing that?! I have the best firewall in the world!" Hephaestus aborted at the assumption. "Mortal technology is child's play for a god sweetheart. Even if it's one of my children's designs." The brunette was understandably astounded by what computer screen guy was asserting. "...span style="font-style: italic;"DAD?" /spanRoxie exclaimed to the tinkerers delight. "Nice to see the gears turning Roxie. Now I'm sure you have a ton of questions, but I need you to do two very important things. First: do you still have that little blue pony miniature I gave you when you were a baby?" Roxie held up the tiny Rainbow Dash for her father to see. "Good, Good. Don't use it yet, but you're gonna need that. Now...what do you know about hacking 3 maximum security prisons?"]


	3. The Most Wanted Demigods in America

Breaking out of prison is a bitch and a half in the first place, as any good criminal will tell you. The only thing harder would be someone on the outside guiding the person on the inside out of the prison. Doing it once was hard enough, but Roxie had been enlisted to do it 3 times for people she had never met on the word of her absentee father who also happened to be a greek god. Y'know, every day stuff. "Okay, were going to start here. I'll be walking you through this, so try not to panic and this'll be over in a cinch." Hephaestus explained as Roxie pulled up the first prison system, Rikers in New York. "So wait. Assuming I get these guys out of here, where do they go?" The hacker asked as she began breaking down the firewall. "That's not your concern sweetie. Just do this and the camps will take care of the rest." Roxanne shrugged as she managed to gain access to the prison system. "Okay, Your first man is in the interrogation cell waiting for the prosecutor. Let's get him out of there before they show up."

Lucas sat idly in the cage, twiddling his thumbs and trying to remember how to get out of handcuffs. It wasn't a great idea, but at least he could feel his hands again. "Hey guard! What the hell is taking this guy so long?" The hitman shouted, drawing the ire of the guard watching him. "Can it Walsh." Lucas sighed, content to wait out the prosecutor. But before he got the chance, an alarm was heard as the gate to the holding cell slid open. "Huh. That's new." Lucas chuckled as he hopped out of his chair. "Hey, sit back down!" The guard demanded as Lucas shimmied out of his cuffs. "Let's play a different game." A few seconds later the guard was unconscious and Lucas was concerning himself with forcing the gate closed. "What hells the matter with this thing?!" Magic Man groaned as a speaker suddenly blared to life. "Stop pulling on it, it only closes with the control panel." A scratchy voice commanded, startling Lucas away from the door.

"What the-who are you?!" The hitman exclaimed. Roxanne looked at her father. "Use whatever name you use with that voice." The god shrugged. "You can call me Reaper. And it's my job to get you out of here on orders from the Gods." Roxie said. Lucas simply stared back at the speaker. "Okay, so my rescue team clearly got into someone's stash, but that's never deterred me before. Where do I go?" Roxie guided Lucas out of the holding cells and into the first of a series of security doors. "This might take a second." The hacker muttered, asking patience the shapeshifter was lacking. "I got this." Magic Man backed up and shifted into a rhino, startling his companion. "What the hell?!" Roxie exclaimed as Lucas-rhino backed up and charged, slamming against the door. The metal bent, but held. Lucas grumbled, ran back, and charged again, this time smashing the door open.

The shapeshifter slowly picked up speed, battering his way through the doors the separated his cell block from the rest of the prison. "Go left!" Roxie yelled as Lucas ignored her, crashing directly through one of the walls that lead to the prison yard. The shapeshifter swung left, intending to run right through the outer wall and leave the island. But what he got for his trouble was ending up in a celestial bronze net that forced him back into human form.

"What the fuck is this?!" Lucas exclaimed as two demigods pulled him up into their chariot, pulled by a Pegasus. "It's a rescue dumbass." One said as the chariot took off. "Rescue?! Who said I need to be rescued!" The hitman complained as a vibration was heard. The three boys looked to find a video screen installed in the chariot. "Your old timey wagon has Skype?" Lucas asked as the other demigod looked back. "And that's why your in the net." He replied as Hephaestus and Roxie appeared. "Not bad for mortals." The tinkerer said, about as close to a compliment as a god would normally get. "Um, not to sound like a broken record, but can either of the preteens in battle armor explain the human play doh head and the MLP fan girl on FaceTime in the magic flying wooden bucket pulled by American Pharoh's flying cousin?!" Lucas exclaimed, suddenly wondering if the prison food was laced with LSD. Hephaestus laughed as his daughter blushed, realizing her collection was in the background. "Ah a demigods first impression is always my favorite. Although I can't say I remember one with such vivid yet sarcastic descriptions." This was followed by no explanation. "So I'm just not getting an answer about anything?" Lucas asked to silence. "Not even about the ponies?" He reasoned. "You don't get to talk about them!" Roxanne exclaimed indignantly. "Everything will be explained later dear boy. Right now, we have two more demigods to pick up. Why all 3 were in prison is anyone's guess." The fire god shrugged. "You're gonna wanna hold on to something new guy." The driver said before whipping the Pegasus. "Wh-" But Lucas never got to finish as he went hurtling through the sky at the speed of the gods.

The brief trip through super speed ended above Detroit, the chariot arriving to a chorus of police sirens. "What're we doing here?" Lucas muttered, peering over the rim of the chariot. "Our second pick up is currently a resident of the state courtesy of 15 assault charges and 4 unsolved homicides." The navigator replied as they guided the chariot to the Detroit Detention Center. "Sounds like a swell guy. Hey can I come out of this net?" The shapeshifter asked. The navigator looked at his friend with concern. "Can we?" He asked. "Sure. Just slap one of the trackers on him." The driver said. "What if he breaks it." "Well, those things can only be disabled by Cabin 9 kids. And since he hasn't figured out how to disable the net yet, I'd imagine he's not one of those. So we can let him out." The navigator hesitated but agreed and let Lucas out, splattering the shapeshifter with orange paint. "Reason?" "It's biometric paint. We can track you from here to space if you run." Lucas sighed and hopped up, stretching and looking over the city. "Can I help get him?" The hitman asked. "Will you not if we try to stop you?" The navigator asked. "The question was more of a formality, I'm doing this!" Lucas laughed as he dove headfirst off the chariot, morphing into a gorilla and smashing through the roof of the prison.

Meanwhile, Miles was 30 yards away considering the odds of a riot. The athlete had no intention of remaining in jail, but where Lucas was more then capable of thinking his way out of prison, Miles had no such plan. His only thought was to use his powers to force his way out, but being effective required a level of discretion that the 6'6" criminal was lacking. But then a 400 pound silverback fell out of the sky and crushed the electric room, something Miles chalked up to random good luck. Block 3 erupted as across the prison cells slid open and cameras shorted out. The prison was put into a total blackout, and the athlete took advantage, following the wall to the still closed block door. "Okay, lets hope this still works." Miles muttered as he put his hands to the door and focused. His ears started ringing and the pressure in the room dropped dramatically around him as the thick metal door was blasted off its hinges with a sound that was nothing short of a sonic boom. "That is so much fun!" Miles laughed as he ducked out. He didn't know the specifics or limits of that power, or even what it really was, but it had saved him more than once so the criminal tried not to question it to often. He sprinted down the hall for a while, passing several angry cell blocks trying to break down their doors. Miles has almost reached the yard entrance when the wall collapsed on him. He emerged to find the gorilla executing the prison break on the other side. "Gorilla?!" Miles exclaimed as Lucas realized his mistake, shifting back to a human. "Take it easy dude, I'm getting you out of here!" Miles stared at the kid for a moment, convinced he was losing it. "No thank you...whatever you are." He said slowly, trying to continue to grasp reality. "Look man, the guards are coming for you in about 3 minutes. If you would like to avoid tacking an escape charge to your sheet, stop questioning this and come with me!" Lucas demanded. "Fine. Better then being in here." Miles shrugged. "Good, your gonna need that attitude if your gonna survive the explanation of this rescue." The hitman said as two nets dropped down, taking both demigods up to the chariot. "What the fu-can I get an explanation?!" Miles exclaimed. "You're getting the abridged version!" Hephaestus yelled.

"That's better then nothing." "The Greek Gods are still alive, we moved to America, Mount Olympus is on top of the Empire State Building, we mate with mortals who birth to demigods, you are both demigods, you were born to be heroes and save the world from all kinds of ancient evil hiding from mortals in a magic veil called the Mist and your entire life has been predetermined by 3 old ladies and yarn. Any questions?" Hephaestus asked. Miles and Lucas both raised their hands, only to be ignored. "Good, because your LA friend is about to be in deep shit if we don't get her out of there." "Our what?" Miles asked. "Our last pick up is doing 15 to 45 in LA for robbery. Somethings going down." One of the demigods explained as the chariot jumped to California. "What's happening?" Lucas asked. "The girls father has been keeping an eye on her until we got there. One of the guards has taken a liking to her and is going to force himself onto her tonight. You two have to stop it." Lucas and Miles gave each other the side eye all street kids have, the kind that says 'You buying this shit?' "I've heard of worse reasons to break a girl out of jail. Ready?" Lucas asked, hopping up onto the edge of the chariot. "Fuck it." Miles agreed, hopping over the edge 100 feet in the air. "...Does he know he can't fly?" Lucas finally asked. All 3 demigods present, and the Skype of Roxie and Hephaestus followed the athlete down, Sure they had just witnessed a suicide when a wicked wind came screaming off the ocean, swinging under Miles feet and letting him surf the wind down. "OH OKAY. I GUESS HE CAN JUST FLY OR SOMETHING." Lucas groaned, chalking it up as just another nonsensical event that HOPEFULLY would be explained later! The conman sighed and hopped off, switching to an eagle on his way down and landing on the roof next to Miles. "So what's the plan Flyboy?" Lucas asked as Miles popped a vent cover off the roof. "Let's go bag us a hero."


	4. Do the Thing that Hurts the Bad Guys!

Being locked up was driving Daniella insane. The thief had always taken pleasure in nature and open spaces, especially the ocean. She had gotten used to wandering the beach at 4 am since her mom had kicked her out, finding comfort in the crash of the waves and the salt in the air. The ocean was her only source of peace since her life was blown to bits, and now she was so far inland she couldn't even hear it. Daniella tossed and turnt for a few hours before giving up on sleep and settling for at just a little meditation. The girl had never been the best at sitting still and doing nothing, one of the many perks of ADHD, but she found that she could do it if she tried hard enough. Weird things sometimes happened when Daniella focused enough, but that was only when she was near the water. And the location of the prison made that damn near impossible. So Daniella sat and closed her eyes. It took her a couple tries, but after a little she centered herself in her happy place. From the top bunk of their shared cell was Dani's cell mate Mikayla. The 16 year old had learned very little about the newest resident of the state, but only that she had been sitting around like that every few hours since she got here. It wasn't any of her business, but Mikayla got a weird vibe from the little beach bum. Of course at 14 she had been snatching purses and dealing weed out of her locker, so what the hell did she know?

As Daniella mediated, someone of the creeper variety had his own version of a midnight snack on his mind. Randall Stevenson had been a guard at the Metro Detention Center for 4 years, and had a well established routine for the night watch. Go through the lockdown procedure the night shift always demanded, a quick bed check of the prisoners Randall valued much less, a stop for a sandwich in the guard canteen, then he moved on to Cell Block D. This particular block had a very specific nickname that only Randall and few...choice officers used. It was known as the Jailbait Block, a cell block full of vulnerable young girls specifically placed there for Randall and his perv squad to use for their sadistic pleasures. Normally the pedophile guard would hit up a couple cells throughout his tour, promising shortened sentences and extended privileges for any girl willing to drop their pants. And of course, everyone was willing because denying anyone on the nightshift a booty call would only end poorly. Beatings, lengthy sentences, loss of phone and visitation, and even going as far as to force resistant girls to walk down the sex offender wing naked, moaning like a pornstar. Randall has plenty of favorites, but tonight he only had one name on his list. The guard wandered in, dragging his nightstick across the bars to get a rise out of the girls. On the other side of the block one of Randalls friends was getting busy with a 12 year old on 4 shoplifting charges. He shrugged off the girls pleas for help, and they were quickly muffled by the other guard. Just another night in the Jailbait Block.

Randall pulled up to his cell of choice, noting Mikayla on the bed and Daniella on the floor. The young thief wasn't anywhere near as developed as what normal men sought after, but the budding curves of the late blooming girl were perfect for a creep like Randy. She was exactly what he wanted: young, lean, and with any luck, without grass on the field. The guard quietly unlocked the cell and came in, not wanting to disturb her. He may be a creepy weirdo with a thing for little girls, but he was nothing if not a gentleman. Randy quickly checked to make sure Mikayla was still in her bunk before grabbing Dani and pinning her down. "Getting ready for your first night baby? That's a good girl." The guard chuckled, his breath reeking of turkey and cheap cigarettes. "Get off me!" Danielle yelled, struggling as the guard pulled her pants down, getting a look at her Kim Possible panties as she fought. "You have good taste. Maybe if your a good girl I'll get you the box set for TV time. Now why don't you open up for me?" Randy chuckled, attempting to pry the thief's legs open and earning a kick in the face. "Go away! Don't touch me you freak!" Daniella screamed, thrashing around before getting jawed by Randy. "Alright you little slut, I'll go in the back door. Just so you know, this is gonna hurt a lot more, and I'm just _dying_ to hear you beg." The guard flipped Dani onto her stomach and pulled her panties down, grabbing her butt as he did. "Go on tiny, cry for mommy. No one can hear you scream, so you can cry all you want. But for as long as you're here, your ass belongs to me." But as Randy came so tantalizingly close to his goal, the floor began to shake. "What the hell is this?!" The guard exclaimed as the very foundation of the prison groaned and shuddered until, with a guttural roar, a massive geyser of water exploded out of the floor and punching Randy in the face. The creeper stumbled back, stunned as the column formed a wall between him and Dani. "Wha-What is this? How are you doing that?!" He exclaimed. Daniella quickly stood up, pulling up her pants and watching as the froth of the wave formed a simple message: Hi :) . "Uh...hi?" She said, suddenly realizing her hands had some kind of green aura around them.

"Is...is this what happens when I focus? Why every time I mediate something gets wet?" Dani asked. The message was quickly replaced: Yup! It's your powers. "So wait...who are you?" The final message popped up: Literally nothing. This is just you talking to yourself, but your inner monologue is a wave. "Somehow that is the least weird thing I've heard in about a week." Daniella smirked. The wall fell and seeped under the girl, lifting her up with a roaring wave behind her. It was admittedly pretty badass. And Randy quickly learned why Daniella was the wrong inmate to try to pleasure. Now they say cartoons can't teach you anything, but Dani's extensive watching of both Avatar the Last Airbender and Kim Possible had convinced her to learn martial arts in a real world attempt of emulating her animated heroes. Throw in her water bending (that might not have been the technical term but Daniella very much enjoyed calling it that) and what Randy earned was a wet and wild ass kicking that Katara would have been proud of. Dani used the busted pipe to create tendrils of the water, using one to grab the guard by the neck and the others to beat the crap out of him, all controlled by her fists. She turned the last of the overflow into a fist and swung, sending Randy flying across the cell block into the wall. Dani stepped out as the water drained away, discovering Miles and Lucas standing outside awestruck.

The girl chuckled at the two, quickly putting it together. "A little late with the calvary, but a rescue mission is just as good. You get lost?" I, Uh, Well-" Lucas began, But Miles beat him to it. "We stopped for lunch on our way here." The athlete admitted. "It's 8 at night." Daniella pointed out. "Look it's been a weird day. Let's leave now and we can tell you all about it when we get to...wherever we're supposed to go." Lucas said, gesturing in the general direction of the exit. "Sounds like a good idea." And our ragtag group of heroes made it 5 feet before every alarm in the prison went off. "See I knew we were forgetting something! It's not right if we don't have a bunch of assholes shooting at us." Lucas laughed. "I dunno if that's what's gonna happen." Dani said, only for 15 guards to come out of the woodwork with guns. "No it definitely is. Okay, whose turn is it to play Superman? Miles buddy, you wanna do a thing with your thing or whatever it is you do?" Miles shrugged as the guards started firing. Suddenly Dani felt her ears pop before the bullets simply stopped in midair. "Okay, So now it's the matrix?" She asked. "Not...exactly? It's the atmosphere or whatever. I'm not a rocket scientist." Miles shrugged as he forced the bullets to turn around and sent them flying back, putting the firing squad down. "Okay, that's done. Let's leave before the thing that always seems to go wrong goes wrong." Lucas said, as Dani led the way. "You guys have this down to a science huh?" She asked. "2 prison breaks in 6 hours will do that to you." Miles admitted. Daniella went to say something, but another rumble silenced her. "Uh, sweetheart? Maybe lay off the water pipes until we leave?" Lucas said. "That's not me!" Dani yelped as a small army of rock spirits emerged from the floor and walls. "Huh. Anybody else see the scary concrete gremlins?" Lucas asked, and his companions nodded. "Good. So I'm not crazy...or not the only crazy one at least." "What now?" Daniella asked, confused at the Look her new friends gave her. "What?" "We don't have a plan. The people in the flying bucket made the plans." Lucas admitted. "Oh my god I've been saved by crazy people." The water bender said in amazement, getting a laugh from Miles. "Oh you have no idea." And as if to illustrate his point, a shaft of light pierced the roof and enveloped the 3 demigods, whisking them off to wherever magic beams of light take people.


	5. Put Up or Shut Up

Teleporting was a tricky thing to master, even for a god. It was pretty hit or miss where the person would end up, and location wasn't the only thing you had to worry about. More then once a demigod trying to move stealthily ended up in the middle of a monster encampment or worse. Doing it with one person is hard, 4 is improbable, and 4 with 1 person no where near the other 3 is guaranteed to end poorly. In this case, teleporting the 4 demigods technically did work. Miles, Lucas, Dani, and Roxie all appeared at Camp Half-Blood. The only problem was, they reappeared 100 feet ABOVE the camp. The 4 had their own roadrunner moment before falling straight down. After a few seconds of screaming, one by one they saved themselves. Lucas shifted into an eagle, Dani summoned the water from the lake to catch herself, and Miles simply played with the air pressure to defy physics and stop falling. Roxanne had her own way of solving the problem, a solution she didn't even know she could do.

"SHIT SHIT SHIT!" The gamer screamed as her new friends stopped their own falls. Roxie was so busy panicking that she missed the weird purple aura that had surrounded her hands. Said aura acted like a magnet, summoning as much scrap metal as it needed to form what quickly became a landing platform. Roxie continued screaming until she slammed directly into her platform, earning a collective gasp from the kids who had run out to see the 4 screaming sky people. "Ow." Roxie muttered as her insides sloshed around trying not to come outside. After a moment 3 sets of feet told her the others had come. "Is she dead?" Dani asked. "From that height? Definitely dead." Miles agreed. "Dibs on whatever's in her pockets if she's dead." Lucas declared. "Lucas! Don't be an asshole...I want her phone." Miles chuckled. "I'M NOT DEAD!" Roxie exclaimed, peeling herself off the scrap and giving the entire camp a good scare. "Huh. So how did you pull that off?" Lucas asked as the 4 walked to the ground. "Are we just ignoring the thing I created?" Roxie asked. "Look you've seen all of us do cool stuff, we figured it was only a mater of time until you showed us something." The hitman admitted. "Okay then. Well at least one of you didn't try to rob me." Roxie said, confusing Dani. "Oh don't get me wrong, I thought about it. I figured anything you had was ruined from the landing so I didn't bother." The other girl admitted. "Nothin a little ingenuity can't fix." Miles chuckled. "What kind of 'ingenuity'?" Lucas asked. "I know a guy." "What's his name?" Dani prodded. "His names None of your damn business, so quit asking." Miles replied as they finally reached the ground, met by Chiron. "Well, how nice of you 4 to drop in, So to speak." The centaur chuckled. "Not funny." Roxie groaned, still trying to realign her ribs.

"Nevertheless, we must make our way quickly." Chiron said, gesturing towards the Big House, But no one moved. The four demigods naturally didn't trust the wise old Horse man any further then they could throw him, which was none at all. The centaur got a few feet away before making that realization. "Does anyone else see the half horse man?" Roxie asked her friends. "Yes. Oh shit, yes." Lucas agreed. "Do we...do we follow it?" Daniella asked, subconsciously stepping behind Miles. "I don't think it's an it." Miles pointed out. "Correct Mr Donovan. I am Chiron, protector of Camp Half-Blood." Chiron introduced. "Random question, what's a Chiron?" Lucas asked. "Better question, what's Camp Half-Blood?" Roxie asked. "Even better question, how do you know my last name!" The old centaur sighed and looked into the sky. "You couldn't have brought me one of your smarter children to save the world?" Chiron asked, and his only answer was a not so distant rumble of thunder. "Why is the horseman talking to the sky?" Roxie whispered, hiding behind Lucas. "You four ask a lot more questions then the average demigod." Chiron asked. "Well I mean, it's not super unwarranted after our trip here consisted of being BROKEN OUT OF JAIL BY TWO GUYS IN BATTLE ARMOR AND A HOLY PIECE OF SILLY PUTTY TURNED INTO A HUMAN AND THEN TELEPORTATION. So yes, we. Have. QUESTIONS." Lucas exclaimed.

The centaur sighed and rubbed his temples. Every demigod had questions, but most let him explain before screaming. "Please. Just come with me and I'll explain everything." Chiron insisted. "No way! Literally nothing has ever ended well for the people who followed the guy who said 'Follow me and I'll explain.'" Dani pointed out. Chiron managed to contain his frustration as someone finally came to his side. "Fine. We'll follow him. And if he tries anything, I get to mount half a horse on the wall when I get home." Miles said, only half kidding. Chiron sighed in relief and lead the four to the Big House. They entered, and immediately panicked when they caught Mr. D feeding Seymour. "Jesus Christ what the fuck is that thing?!" Lucas exclaimed as the leopard head roared in annoyance. "Our magic leopard head." Dionysus said curtly. "Oh. Cool?" Was all he could muster. "Sit children. All will be explained." When the 4 finally sat, Chiron launched into the explanation.

"Thousands of years ago, the earth was ruled by the Greek Gods. They controlled everything, and humans worshipped them as deities, making sacrifices to earn their favor. The strongest mortals were heroes, doing quests for the Gods because they couldn't interfere in mortal affairs. Gods and Heroes are from all forms of the world, but the Greeks are the most recognizable. But when Ancient Greece fell and Rome rose, the Gods followed the epicenter of expansion to the Roman Empire. Zeus became Jupiter, Hera became Juno, and the Gods adapted to fit the new civilization that worshipped them, filling a more militaristic role. They followed the expansion all over Europe before finally arriving in the US around the 1700's. Now Gods can take any form they please, so when they arrived in America they shifted between their Greek and Roman aspects depending on the circumstances. And to grow a new generation of heroes, the Gods mated with mortals worthy of their affection. The child of a God and a Mortal is a Demigod. That's you 4. Demigods come to camps like this to be trained, groomed to be heroes and fight enemies of Olympus. Some have unique abilities, some don't. But every demigod is capable, with enough training, of becoming a monster killing badass that can save the world. YOU need to become monster killing badasses pronto. Because in about a week, a giant snake named Python is going to swallow the moon goddess and the spirit of prophecy, and then the tides are going to drown us all."

The 4 demigods looked at each other, trying to grasp the gravity of their current situation. They had literally just been tasked with saving a goddess to prevent the end of the world via tidal overflow. "And how long do we have to accomplish this? Like a month or two?" Lucas asked. Chiron chuckled a little, not out of humor but out of pure bitterness at the situation. "2 weeks. You have 2 weeks to train, travel, and save Artemis and Delphi." The room was quiet for a moment, then Lucas snickered. "Well then. I guess it's put up or shut up for us."


	6. CHOOSE YOUR WEAPONS

With their mission somewhat outlined, Chiron sent the 4 demigods our to Cabin 9, hoping that their choice in weapons would reveal their godly heritage. The centaur recruited the head counselor of the Hephaestus cabin Cody, who was rather reluctant about meeting new people. He had always preferred the company of his work, and his siblings in small doses. You can't make a human say and think what you want, and it made socializing awkward. Cody's only solace was Roxie, who had already been claimed and was more interested in something she was working on then finding a weapon. "Alright guys, here we are." The counselor stopped at a blank wall and grabbed one of the gears scattered on the shelf nearby, and gave it a crank. The wall shifted and rumbled until it slid away, and Cody lead the 4 down the winding stairs to what Cabin 9 had affectionately titled 'The Valdez Armory,' a tribute to the Supersize McShizzle himself when he moved on from Camp. "We keep all the weapons the Camp uses down here. It's got everything from standard issue stuff to wild things of all sorts. Pick what you think suits you best, and then we'll head out." Miles, Lucas, and Dani all scrambled to find the coolest weapon, but Roxie stood back, fidgeting with something. Cody leaned over and realized she was doing rocket science calculations on her arm with a sharpie. "You busy?" The teen asked, smirking as the startled hacker fell out of her trance. "O-oh. Yeah I'm working on something. It, it's really stupid, you don't need to worry about it." Roxie insisted, covering her work with her sleeve. "Looked like pretty advanced stuff for someone your age. Sure it's not to hard?" And it looks could kill, Cody would have dropped dead on the spot. "Yes, I'm sure. And if I did need help, I'd sooner ask the wall then I would you." Annoyed, Roxie snatched a dagger off one of the tables and waved it at Cody. "There dipshit, I got a thing. I'll be in my room." She spat, storming off.

Cody thought about going after her, maybe teaching her a little respect, but it quickly became apparent he wasn't dealing with ordinary stuff today. "You keep fake stuff down here too?" Miles asked. "What?" Cody wandered over and looked at what the athlete was pointing at, a battle hammer with a purple stone embedded in one side. "What makes you think is fake?" The counselor asked. "Because it looks straight out of Avengers?" Miles pointed out. "It's real. Landed in the woods a few months ago. Nobody could lift it so we dug it out. We had an Uh...expert come over and tell us what it was." Miles snickered. "You needed an expert to tell you it was a hammer?" And before Cody could elaborate, the athlete reached over and picked up the hammer like it weighed nothing. "Now how you gonna stand there and tell me you couldn't get this thing out of the ground?" Miles said, spinning it on one finger like a basketball "How...how is that even possible? Thalia said anybody who touched that thing would be dead on contact." Cody said. "I dunno who that is, but sounds like I proved her wrong." The athlete played around with the hammer for a few more seconds before he noticed the stone. And without thinking, Miles grabbed it. "OW! Little fucker!" He yelled as a bolt of purple light arced up his arm and ran through his whole body. The shock made Miles feel like he had just swallowed a match. His whole body was on fire inside, but t didn't hurt. "What did that do?" He asked, but Cody had no answer. "It's...That's...You weren't supposed to...that can only mean one thing." The Hephaestus counselor stammered as Miles grabbed the hammer again. "Okay dude. I'm gonna keep looking at stuff and take this with me. You try not to spaz out over hardware." The athlete said, no worse for the wear. He wandered a little further before picking up a Rolex and whistling. "An Omega? Someone's gonna be sorry I found this." But as he was just beginning to fantasize about what he could buy with the pawn money, the watch sprang to life and morphed into a bronze shield with an Omega carved in red on the front, and the entire thing was ringed with blades. "Oh that's cool."

Further away, Lucas had found his holy land. Lining the walls were every singe gun known to man, crafted from Celestial bronze. "I think I might cry." The thief said in awe, considering everything before snatching two Desert Eagles off the Wall. "Oh your pretty aren't you? I like twins." Lucas whispered, entranced by the weapons. Without thinking, he aimed at the far wall and fired. "Don't do-" Cody exclaimed, a second to late at the bullet ricocheted off the walls. The 4 demigods all panicked before the bullet, out for blood, ended up in Miles shield. "Huh. It's bulletproof. Good to know." The athlete chuckled as the others emerged from their cover. "Uh, my bad dude. I didn't know the walls did that." Lucas admitted. "Of course you didn't." Dani sighed.

"Whats that supposed to mean?" "It means you clearly can't think." "Hey listen sweet cheeks,

I dunno where you get off insulting me-" But before Lucas could finish, Dani spun around, eyes flaring. "Don't EVER call me that." She demanded, only emboldening The thief. "Oh I'm so sorry. That's WAY out of line. You hear that Miles, Princess doesn't want me talking about her cheeks." Lucas laughed. "Must be sore from sitting on her high horse all damn day." Miles agreed. Like that, it hit Lucas. The perfect line, the one to score the win. Offensive? Yes. Brilliant? Definitely. But it was clear Dani knew what he was going for, because before the thief could make his joke, she whipped around with an Imperial Gold katana in hand. The joke died, and a new thought emerged. "Is that a fucking ninja sword?!" Lucas exclaimed as Daniella pushed the point a little further. "Yup. And before you ask, I do know how to use it. So I'd reconsider that joke you thought of." "Not crazy about it, but it's sounds better then a ninja sword in my sternum. You'll get your censorship Kim Possible." Lucas smirked, earning an eye roll from Daniella.

"You three aren't big on traditional weapons are you?" Cody noted. "We got picked to murder a giant snake, the fucks your bronze toothpick gonna do against that?" Lucas muttered. "Monkeyboys right, this stuff is gonna get results." Daniella said. "Whatever man. Maybe Rocket Girl is into traditions." Cody shrugged.

A few rooms away, Roxie was back to work. The hacker had found her bunk, a walled in workshop with a bed pushed to one side and LCD screens making up the walls. She had wasted no time, covering the only normal wall in her notes and blueprints that all linked together through some Beautiful Mind logic that only Roxie understood. Or so she though. As she toiled away with the math, one of her newly discovered half-brothers wandered in. "What's up new girl?" The kid was undersized and underdressed, barely pushing 4'10" and dressed in an oil covered Mariners jersey and jeans that seemed to have suffered every mishap that can come after clothes in the garage. Roxanne managed a half concerned nod as she crunched the numbers. Undeterred, the boy walked in and stood next to Roxie, glancing at the mess of clothes and crap tossed on the floor as he made his way over. He had an eye for details, and the little things told him the girl before him had secrets. But that was a different matter. As Roxie continued her calculations, the boy took a brief glance at her work and realized what the plan entailed. "Your building exo-armor?" He said, startling the girl. "Y-Yeah. It's uh...I'm gonna-" She began, but the boy just nodded. "It's a custom weapon. I'm into it." Roxie sighed and sat on her bed. "Yeah. But it's just a pipe dream right now. I'm nowhere near the mechanic I'd need to put this thing together. Maybe I'm better off with a regular weapon." The kid thought for a moment, then smirked. "Your in need of a grease monkey? I think I can help." He said. "You can build it?" The boy looked over the designs Roxie had, then nodded. "I can build it. Weapons, jets, all up to specs. I'm your man." "That's all I need to hear. I'm Roxie by the way. So whats your name half-brother of mine?" Roxie asked, sticking her hand out. The boy took hers in his own oil streaked hand and shook it. "TJ. TJ Mathers."


	7. Lucas Pisses Off the Ocean

The rest of the day passed without event, a blessing considering the rise in monster attacks recently. No one came out and stated that it was because of the 4, but privately the cabins agreed that it was totally because of the 4. Chiron was just glad he didn't have to throw them all in the Hermes cabin because as a matter of fact, their weapons did get them claimed. Miles stumbled across Mjölnir and got himself claimed by Zeus, Lucas ended up as a son of Hermes, Roxanne practically showed up with Hephaestus, and Dani broke a water pipe to fight a prison guard, something that clearly made Poseidon proud. Everything seemed agreeable until Miles discovered what exactly being a child of Zeus meant for cabins. "I live here now?" It was all the athlete could muster when he got to the cabin. While the giant marble temple certainly looked like something Zeus would want, it didn't strike Miles as something a person was supposed to live in. All the other ones looked nicer, except for the weird black one covered in skulls. Miles wasn't sure who lived there, but he was just glad he didn't. "Fuck it. Beats sleeping outside."

He opened the door to discover that in addition to living in a weird temple thing, he wasn't living there alone. The building was currently empty, but one of the beds was unmade and it looked as if someone had made themselves right at home. An empty suitcase was tucked behind the bed, the drawers were open, and pictures were loosely taped to the wall. All of them showed a dark haired, olive skinned girl that Miles assumed slept in the bed. "Okay. I guess I just live with a girl now. It's not like things could get any weirder." The son of Zeus sighed as he stashed away all his worldly possessions: his shield, his hammer, 3 dollars, and his sisters cross for good luck. Miles briefly considered texting his sister, but decided that his mom had taken care of it. With that out of the way, it left the athlete to deal with one thing: the friendly voice of a drunk in his head.

Miles was pretty sure he wasn't out of his mind, at least not yet. The voice had started a little while after the stone in the hammer zapped him. At first it was just coughing like an old man, then the sound of glass bottles. As someone who used to run barefoot through Detroit and picked glass out of his feet on a daily basis, just the sound made his stomach turn. What the voice had failed to do was say anything of importance, or at all for that matter. Just the occasional sound of bottles and coughing. Finally, Miles decided to try something stupid: talk to the voice. "Um, hi?" Miles said after another cough. To his surprise, the voice sounded as if it had just woken up. "Aye, son of a bitch that hurts." The voice groaned. "It worked. Why did that work? What is going on here?!" Before he could process what was going, suddenly Miles was gone. Not really gone, because he was still in the cabin, but mentally the athlete was somewhere else. The new room was dark and smelled vaguely like a basement soaked in aftershave and scotch. The only things in the room was a chair, a table, a kegerator for something called Mead Lite, and a bed where the voice in Miles's head seemed to be personified. The figure groaned and staggered out of the bed, but though he was only dressed in an Avengers shirt and shorts, the drunk was unmistakable.

"Chris Hemsworth?" Miles said in bold confusion as a dead ringer for the actor towered over him. "I'm not your pussy faced actor little cousin! Your talking to a manifestation of the real deal!" He exclaimed. "Really? Because when I think of Thor, purple drunk Chris Hemsworth doesn't come to mind." Miles admitted. Thor certainly was an odd color, like a hologram shaded dark purple. "Well don't go and start thinking that! I'm a piece of Thor's consciousness. I'm supposed to help whoever is worthy of wielding the hammer!" The son of Odin roared, pounding his table for emphasis. "Why are you drunk?" Miles asked to the figures delight. "Well when a Norse man waits 3 years to be freed from a rock, he passes the time with Mead. Or Mead Lite if it suits you." "Fair enough. Okay Thor, how are you gonna help me?" Miles asked. Thor grinned and spread his arms. "Patience cousin. All will be revealed when the time comes. But if your going to war, and I can assure you thats what your doing, you need to claim Mjölnir for your own."

"What does that mean?" Miles asked, even more confused. "It's simple. The hammer is a hammer because I like hammers. But if it's going to really be useful for you, you need to make it what you like! A sword, a spear, a club, a rocket launcher, whatever!" Now Miles was interested. As much as he liked the idea of swinging a hammer around, somehow it didn't strike him as the most effective weapon. "Focus cousin. Bring the hammer to you." Thor coached. Miles closed his eyes and reached out, and a second later Mjölnir arrived. Only the hammer was no longer a hammer. It had taken the form of a sword unlike any in Cabin 9. The blade was gray like storm clouds with veins of purple light running from the hilt to the point. The entire sword glowed purple and even in his head Miles could feel the power. "Asgardian craftsmanship. They tint all the bronze blades gray for Odin and me. Now that's a weapon." Thor rumbled in approval. "This is so cool." Miles muttered. "Savor it while you can cousin. Your day will come soon enough, and your skills will be tested. But never fear! I'll be in your head dispensing helpful advice and occasionally join in the bloodshed!" Thor said cheerfully as the dream faded out. "And tell that half sister of yours cousin Thor loves her too!" The dream ended and Miles woke up to find his half sister staring at him. "About Time new guy. Dream messages already?" She said. "Something like that. Miles." The girl smiled and leaned back. "Jade. It'll be nice to have someone else in the cabin. To quiet in here for me." Miles nodded to the sound of his stomach. "So What was your dream?" Jade asked. "Cousin Thor says hi. I could go for pizza fries." Miles decided, providing no explanation before wandering off in search of a snack. "Oh Thor. You've gone and holed up in someone's head again." Jade sighed and followed her brother out.

Meanwhile, Miles wasn't the only one having weird godly interactions. Lucas had wandered out towards the sound and had quite literally watched a fed ex man rise up from the sand. "Package for Walsh, son of Hermes?" The delivery man said as he fully formed, and Lucas suddenly realized something was very wrong with this fed ex man. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU?!" The son of Hermes exclaimed, staring in shock at the twin snake trunks that replaced the delivery mans legs. "I'm a drakkon, and I have a name thank you very much." He said, frowning. "Oh. What's your name?" Lucas managed. "Steve." The drakkon said without a trace of humor.

Lucas did his best to not let his brain explode. "Okay Steve. Why did you just rise out of the beach?" "Magic. Your dad wanted this delivered before you left camp." Steve explained, handing Lucas the box. "Oh terrific. I finally know who my dad is and he sends me a box via Steve the drakkon delivery man." The thief sighed as he signed for the box. "Bye!" Steve said cheerfully, melting back into the sand. Lucas stared into the sky in exasperation, as that seemed to be the only way to talk to the Gods without burning something. "That's not funny dad! If this is your idea of a joke, it ain't funny!" The son of Hermes had never been one for novelty, and when he took a look at what he'd been thrown into, Lucas wasn't laughing.

He hadn't gone into the Hermes cabin with expectations, because having your life turned upside down will do that to you, and somehow Lucas was still pissed. For all the grandeur of the other cabins, all Hermes got was the leftover set piece from Wet Hot American Summer. The cabin was old and small, and every attempt at an expansion turned out to be something stolen held together with duck tape. It had no AC, and the biggest problem was THERE WERE 40 KIDS CRAMMED INTO IT.

Some of them didn't even belong to Hermes! The counselor, Evan, had explained that every camper who was unclaimed slept on the floor of the Hermes cabin until they got claimed. This impaired certain things such as walking, sleeping, having a conversation, the list goes on. Lucas had been a lone soldier for so long that he wasn't even keen on saving the world with 3 other people, let alone sleeping with 40. Add in the fact that Hermes kids were notorious criminals, and it was equatable to a prison holding cell: You sleep with one eye open and holding something sharp, or you won't like waking up.

Lucas considered chucking his dads gift into the ocean, but the idea that he could be throwing away something valuable got the best of him. He opened the box and couldn't help but be confused. "Sneakers? You had Steve come all the way down here to give me sneakers?" Lucas was incredulous. The shoes were nice, Air Force Ones in black and bronze. But at the same time, they didn't seem as important as Steve made it sound. "Okay Hermes, I'll bite. What makes these special?" Lucas murmured as he slipped into the Nike's. The shoes did nothing magical other then be comfortable, and after a minute Lucas had come to the conclusion that Hermes was just joking about them being important. Then he tried to walk and found himself 10 feet down the beach.

"Woah." Was all the The son of Hermes could muster as he did it a few more times. Now there was no doubting it: Lucas had super speed shoes. It took him all of 5 seconds to start running around Camp. "This is so sweet!" He exclaimed as he went flying by the cabins to the lunch hall. "Hey Flyboy! Check this shit out!" The thief yelled as he circled Miles and Jade at Mach 4. "Lucas?!" The son of Zeus could only watch in amazement as his friend ran around. "You bet your ass! I got Holy Nike's now baby!" Lucas laughed as he made his way back to beach, nearly clocking Dani as she walked past. "Lucas?!" The daughter of the sea god brought her friend to a stop. "What's up Ariel?" Lucas said as he glided to a stop. "Ariel?" Dani asked. "The Little Mermaid. Your the daughter of Poseidon? Gimme a break, I'm working on it."

"Why were you just going so fast?" Daniella asked. "I gots me some magic shoes from my dad. What're you doing down here?" The daughter of Poseidon blushed and stammered, trying to find the right words. "I Uh, I just wanted to see..." Dani groaned, her words failing her. "The Sound?" Lucas finally suggested. "Yes! The Sound! I've never seen it." She finally said. "Huh. It's nothing really special Dani, it's just like any other spot. This is our LA river." The son of Hermes said. "It's not just that. This Camp is supposed to be the go between for the Gods. Everything is sacred. If this water is so special, maybe..." "Oh I get it. You think that if you come to your old mans neck of the woods, he'll pop up out of the ocean and be all 'Hey Sweetie, sorry I missed the last 14 years, it's hard to find smokes underwater!'?"

Dani sighed and stopped at the waters edge. "Is that stupid? Am I investing to much in this?" She asked. "Hey, normally I'd say yes, but I just got magic super speed shoes delivered by a half snake man named Steve. Weirder shit could happen." Lucas said. "So I should see if he comes?" Dani asked. "Look. I'm not saying he won't come. But don't be disappointed if Poseidon himself doesn't rise out of the Long Island Sound in a Tommy Bahama shirt riding a horse that's half rainbow fish to apologize for being 14 years late for your life. I'm gonna leave though. With all my negative bullshit I'll ruin your dad summoning vibes." Lucas said as he turned to leave. "Oh why bother Lucas. Stay a while, meet your friends godly parent!"

Both kids turned to the source of the booming voice as the once peaceful surface churned violently. After a moment up came the head of Poseidon, black hair swept back over his tanned face, eyes as green as the sea and identical to his daughters. The sea god carried his trident casually like it was a fishing pole, and stood on Rainbow the Hippocampus. Poseidon hopped onto the beach and glared at The son of Hermes. "And if you keep bad mouthing me to my daughter, you might get lucky and find out what getting smited is like." Lucas could only groan and hold audience to the clearly pissed god. "Man I hate being right."


	8. Dani's Lament

Lucas and Dani could do little but watch as Poseidon casually leveled the trident at the son of Hermes's chest. "Care to say anything else about me whole I'm here?" The sea god glowered, the tips of the weapon glowing green and ready to gut Lucas like a fish. "Nope! I'm sure your a great dad, please don't smite me." The thief hastily agreed, backing away from the trident so it didn't turn him into a guppy. "That's better. Now run along, I need to talk to my daughter." The sea god commanded, and Lucas bolted. "Is that something you do for all your kids? Threaten to smite one of the 3 friends they have?" Dani sighed. "Only the annoying ones, and only for my daughters. If I did it for all my kids Valdez would've eaten it years ago." Poseidon mused to himself. "Valdez? The one they named the armory after?" Dani asked. Poseidon laughed and shook his head. "No one agreed to call it that. Valdez built the armory so he stuck his name on top and refused to take it down."

"But I thought they only named buildings after dead guys. So who offed him?" The girl asked. "He's not dead, though not for a lack of trying. No, Leo Valdez is somewhere in Texas with that wife of his. The one named after Caribbean music. Reggae? I don't remember, but that's not why I came!" The sea god decided rather abruptly. "So why did you come?" Dani asked, cutting to the chase. "3 reasons! I have something for you, I have someone for you to find if you need help, and answer any questions. Where do you wanna start?" Poseidon said. "Help?" His daughter replied. "You bet! According to the future vision I'm not supposed to tell you about, you'll run into my golden child along the way. And he and my equally awesome daughter in law will help you out with something only they can help you with." Poseidon explained. "Does your golden boy have a name dad?" Daniella asked. "Percy. Percy Jackson. They moved out to Long Beach after they retired from the whole quest thing. Tell him I say hi!" The sea god rambled, something that Dani found adorable.

"Okay dad. Now what's your gift?" The girl asked. "Oh yeah!" Poseidon waded back out to Rainbow and reached into the saddlebags and procured two things. "This might not be a world altering weapon like some other parents would give their kids, but I like the little things." Poseidon beamed as her brought back a Clayton Kershaw jersey and the box set of Kim possible, all 4 seasons and both movies, signed by Christy Romano. "You have no idea what I had to do to get her to sign this. For someone who hasn't done much on TV since this show Christy Romano is a hard woman to get too." The sea god chuckled as his daughter lost it. "THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!" Dani squealed like she was a little girl again and bear hugged the long estranged man who somehow knew her as if he hadn't wandered off for 14 years. "It's more than it looks. I stole the magic for the jersey from something Athena gave my daughter in law." Dani raised an eyebrow as she clutched the jersey. "Magic?" She asked as she slipped it on, only for nothing to happen. "I don't get it." Poseidon chuckled and explained. "Button up sweetie. You'll catch a cold." Dani sighed and did so, only to turn invisible. "AH! Holy shit this is awesome and a little scary!" The daughter of the sea god admitted giddily. "I thought you would like it." Poseidon said as his daughter reappeared.

"Hey dad? Can I ask you something?" Dani asked as her father nodded. "Could you see me all those years when it was just me and Mom and Hannah?" Poseidon grimaced and stared out into the Sound. He figured she would go down this road. "I could. I can see all my kids." Dani tried to swallow the anger swelling in her chest as she spoke. "So you knew when Mom started acting weird. The guys. The drugs. The school. How she treated us." She growled. "Your mom had a lot of problems Dani-" Poseidon began before his daughter snapped. "She beat the crap out of me! Everyday was just 24 hours of screaming and beatings and trying to protect my sister while you sat on a mountain and did NOTHING! Then she'd dress us up like rich girls and we'd have to pretend like nothing was wrong, like our mom wasn't going to beat us for saying one wrong thing wherever we were as soon as we left!" Now she was a tsunami, unable to stop the rising tide of anger that broke free after years of hiding it. Poseidon didn't stop her, she was on a roll. "Then she sent me to that school, and she said they were gonna fix me, and it was just more abuse and hatred! They hated me dad, they hated everything about me and no matter what I did it was never good enough for them to not hit me! I just wanted them to stop hitting me and they wouldn't stop! And Rogers wanted to use me like he used all those other girls, like he used my friends, like he used-" But Dani couldn't go any further. She had run into the Rock, a knot of raw emotion that she had never spoken of but carried with her. The sea god pulled his daughter in close as the tears arrived. "It's okay Dani. You don't have to be brave for me. You can say it." He said, hugging her close as Daniella tried not to sob. "She needed me dad. I was supposed to protect her, I was the brave one. But when she needed me...I couldn't save her." The girl tried her best to stem the tears but it wasn't happening. "Why couldn't I save her dad? Why didn't anyone save her?"

Poseidon got down to eye level and spoke. "Dani, I need you to know this. What happened to your sister isn't your fault. In this world, sometimes bad things happen to good people and there's nothing you can do about it. You beg to go back and fix it, to just have one chance to stop it, but you can't. You can't because it was supposed to happen like it did. You always wondered why Hannah never blamed you, it was because she accepted it. Hannah went head on into it because she knew nothing would change if she didn't. And she ended it, that was her choice. You can't spend the rest of your life blaming yourself for what happened." The sea god insisted as his daughter continued to cry. "H-how?" She sobbed. "Dani, you keep saying that she diedbecause you didn't stop Rogers. But what would've happened if you hadn't gone to save her? You brought down the whole school, saved hundreds of other girls just by showing up and not letting them stop you. You didn't do it because you got something out it, you did it because it was right. You have to look on the bright side. No one ever grew hiding in the dark."

Daniella whimpered and looked up at her father, sort of calmed down. "But it's scary dad. It's scary to do it again." She said. "I know it's scary after being alone for so long. But your already doing it. That boy who was here before? He knows what your dealing with. More than you might give him credit for. The other two want you to be okay too. You'll have new people in your life that want to help you, if you just let them in Dani. Don't close them out." The girl could do little but hug the sea god. She knew he was right. It would take time, but it would happen. "And just so you know, someone's going to drop into your life really soon. They need you. You have to help them." Poseidon insisted. "Who?" "A second chance. That's all Im allowed to say. Okay baby, I have to leave. Your uncle gets finicky about how long I'm down here. But one more thing. Someday, not this time but soon, your going to have to confront something. Something that'll make you want to curl back up and hide in your shell again. Don't let it scare you. Be the light Dani. I love you." Poseidon said cryptically. "I love you to dad." And as the sea god waded out, one last thought struck him. "Oh, and Dani? I think it's sweet that you still need that pony to sleep." His daughter could only bask in the embarrassment as Poseidon laughed. "I-But-DAD!" She screamed as her father vanished under the surf, leaving Dani seemingly alone.

But even though she was the only one on the beach, she wasn't alone. Daniella raised an eyebrow as the waters edge suddenly receded and swirled to form the humanoid shape from the prison. "Hey you. I thought you were just my imagination." Dani smirked as the figure rubbed its arm abashedly. " _Little lie. It was easier then trying to explain what I am in the middle of the fighting."_ "Fair enough. So who are you?" " _ángelos tou okeanoú."_ The figure said, which Dani was surprised to understand. "You're an angel?" She said. " _Angel of the Ocean. My kind protect the daughters of Poseidon if they can control us."_ The being explained. "So when I do the water bending, that's how I get you?" Dani asked, and the angel nodded. "Can you fly?" In response, the angel sprouted wings. "Okay hotshot. What do they call you?" Dani asked. " _Mistakalenos."_ Dani couldn't pronounce it and didn't bother trying. "I'm calling you Misty." Misty shrugged. " _I like Misty."_ "Good! Now I'm going to go back to my cabin. You can go back to whatever it is you do when you're not with me." Misty waved and went back into the Sound, leaving the girl alone. She walked back only to discover Lucas hanging around the entrance to the beach. "Were you waiting for me?" Dani asked. "No! I-I mean...maybe." Lucas mumbled. "Oh. Thank you?" The daughter of the sea god wasn't sure how to go on. Poseidon had insisted Lucas had gone through something similar to her past. She wanted to bring it up but childhood abuse wasn't something she could really just talk openly about.

"So what did you guys talk about?" Lucas asked. "Oh Uh...stuff. My mom...our shared train wreck." Dani said, lowering her voice on the last part. Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Your not on the best of terms?" "We don't have terms, but I'm sure you can't relate." Dani sighed. The son of Hermes could only smile the smile of someone who knew exactly what was going through Dani's head. "Oh Princess. If you wanna talk about fucked up moms, you've come to the king of it." "Really?" "Yeah. I mean it's not like I'm proud of it but I know where you're coming from is all." Lucas admitted as they walked back to the cabins. "Do you want to talk about it?" Dani asked. "Not now. I don't know you that well. Maybe after a few days." The son of Hermes breezed over the question, giving his friend no insight as to what he was thinking. "Do you wanna talk?" Lucas asked as they arrived at Dani's cabin. "No." She barely gave the question a thought.

"So what now?" Lucas asked. "Now? Night." Dani laughed as she slammed the door with Lucas outside. "Very funny Princess." Lucas rolled his eyes and wandered off. "And stop calling me PRINCESS!" Dani yelled through the door as she rolled into her bed. After a a few minutes, and being 100% sure Lucas was gone, she reached under the blankets and pulled out her Rarity plushy. "Night Rarity." The girl sighed, cuddling the unicorn as she drifted off. But as safe as the pony made her feel, it couldn't stop the dreams that came.


	9. Sleepless in Camp Half-Blood

Dani hated nightmares. She hardly slept as it was, and it wasn't helped by the fact that every restful second was terrifying. But where most of the time the bad dreams were just nonsense, tonight Dani had been delivered the Camp Half-Blood standard: a nightmare that not only could happen, but most likely will happen. The girls dreams cycled through a few equally awful scenarios as the night dragged by. It began with her on a plane, a huge no no for Dani. "What?! No, no I want off!" She pleaded, only

To discover they were thousands of feet in the air. Dani stumbled back, sick to her stomach and terrified when a rumble of thunder pierced the air. "WHICH OF MY BROTHERS CHILDREN DARES TO INFILTRATE MY DOMAIN?!" The voice boomed as the plane exploded, dropping Dani in the next dream.

This one showed a dark street, in a city she didn't recognize. Dani stepped forward to discover Miles, laid out in the street with a spear sticking out of his stomach. Before she could even process it, an awful pain flared through her back. Dani looked down to find a the tip of a sword hitting through her stomach, leading to a crude blade run through her. The girl collapsed and groaned as the wound suddenly started smoking green. A dark figure loomed over the girl, and Dani screamed at the sight of it. The figures face was little more than a maw of yellowed, broken teeth, a broken nose and one yellow eye. "Rest easy little sister. If the wound doesn't kill you the poison will." The cyclops laughed. Dani whimpered as she heard Roxie scream off in the distance. "Your friends will fall soon enough. We are to ensure you don't reach the goddess of love. Your quest ends in the West, and Python will consume Artemis without interference from you." The cyclops grinned, and pulled the spear from Miles and drove it down into Dani, breakingthrough to the next dream, only this one didn't seem like a dream.

Dani was alone in what looked like the underside of a building. Cinderblock walls formed the basement hallway that led to a metal door you would find on a meat locker. She wandered through it to find a girl in the room, no older than 10. The girl was held to the wall by a chain around her neck, and though Daniella wasn't cold the other girl clearly was from the way her breath was steaming.Sandy blonde hair fell down her back, and she wore only a pink T-shirt and purple Twilight Sparkle underwear stained with something that made the older girl want to dream puke and real puke. "C-can you hear me?" Dani stammered as the younger girl stirred.

"It's you! You came!" She exclaimed, fighting against the restraint. "Do I know you?" "Yeah, actually no, well not yet. I'm Hailey! I dreamt about you and your friends. Your gonna come save me when my mommy meets your Detroit friend!" The girl said. "Okay. Where is my friend supposed to go to meet your mommy?" Dani asked, and Hailey smiled. "It's kinda a secret. He knows he's gonna go there, but he doesn't know why. My mommy says it's because he's in love, so she can bring him to her." Suddenly Dani put it together. "Is your mommy Aphrodite?" The younger girl nodded happily. "Uh Huh! And I'm finally gonna see her and my daddy again when you save me from the bad man!"

"Sweetie, whose the bad man?" Dani asked. The girl was suddenly quiet as dark thoughts entered her head. "No one knows. The bad man wears a mask and a hat so no one can see him. He took me from my daddy and made me live here. The bad man touches me, but he does it where mommy said no ones supposed to touch until I'm bigger! And I said that, but he said he likes it when he gets to touch when I'm little! I don't like it when he touches me there. It hurts." "What else honey?" Dani asked, fighting back memories of her sister. The girl opened her hand to show a smiley face cut into it. "The bad man gave me that. He said it was so I wouldn't forget. But I don't know what I was supposed to not forget, so I don't think it worked." "Hailey, one more thing. Do you know why you need that one friend? My Detroit friend?" Dani asked. The younger girl thought for a moment, trying to remember. "Mommy told me why. I don't think I remember it all. I was to sleepy. But I think mommy said something about the door. It's a special door. The bad man says it's a magic door, and that only he can use it. But mommy says your friend can open it. And he's only gonna listen to my magic."Hailey insisted. "Magic?" Dani asked. "Yuh Huh! Mommy said I have talking magic, and people listen to me!" "Okay Hailey. You just try to be good and we're gonna come get you. If you need us sooner, just do whatever you did now to talk to me. We'll come." Hailey smiled, then suddenly her face was fearful. "What's wrong?" Dani turned, and all she was was the dark edge of the sword slicing through her dreams.

"HAILEY!" The girl bolted upright, almost slamming her head into the upper bunk as she did. A quick looked revealed Dani was still tucked safe in her cabin, nowhere near the little girl she had met. She instinctively reached under pillow for a throwing knife she had hidden under it and swept the cabin. The building was empty, but that didn't stop a knock from scaring the hell out of her. "Who is it?!" Dani demanded, prepared to stab whoever disturbed her. "It's Roxanne. Can I come in?" The daughter of the sea god assessed her situation. She didn't care if Roxie saw her looking like a mess, or the knife, but Rarity needed to be tucked in. Dani quickly buried the unicorn under her sheets and put the knife back. "Yeah sure!"

The youngest of the 4 looked like she hadn't slept all night. Her clothes were the same as yesterday, she was covered in oil and appeared to be on the verge of literally bursting into flames. "What happened to you?!" Dani exclaimed. "Oh this? Kind of a project I've been working on. Me and TJ pulled and all nighter, I didn't sleep. Did you?" Dani shook her head. "Nightmares sort of ruined that for me. I think my dreams gave me a side quest." Roxie raised an eyebrow. "You too?" "Too?" Dani asked. "Sparky was up at 3 am. Looked out of his mind. Talking to himself. Didn't come back for a while. I saw smoke." Roxie explained, startling her companion. "Smoke?! What the hell did Miles do?" "No idea. Camps still here so I don't think he was trying to burn it down. Maybe he was praying?" Roxie said. "Like last night when we had to burn dinner for our parents? He doesn't strike me as the type to waste food to get his dad down here." "Well, lets go get breakfast. Maybe he'd tell us if he has pancakes." Roxie suggested. "And if he won't?" Dani asked. "Then we can have pancakes. It's win win."

The girls arrived to find the mess hall full of campers, and quickly discovered that the quest had its own personal table. They found Lucas stuffing his face and no Miles. "Where's Miles?" Dani asked as they sat down. Lucas shrugged and went back to his food. "I don't know, but I'm liking this. The kitchens magic or something, they know your favorites before you even tell them. The girls realized he was right, as the plates were piled high with all the good stuff. "So no sign of Sparky?" Dani asked between bites. "MIA since I got here. Maybe she knows." Lucas said, gesturing towards Jade who sat alone. "Ask her. Maybe we'll get luck and she'll hit you." Dani snickered as Lucas rolled his eyes and got her attention. "Hey Miles's sister! Can you please point us towards the Jolly Detroit Giant so he doesn't starve?" The son of Hermes asked. "No idea. He woke up stupid early, came back, crashed out, and was gone when I got up." Jade explained. "Gone? What the hell is he doing wandering around?" Lucas asked. "I dunno. But Horseman looks mad." Roxie said.

The 3 looked and saw Chiron clopping around scowling and looking for someone. The centaur arrived and got to the point. "Where is your friend?" He asked. "It'd be news to us if he turned up." Lucas admitted. "Well he didn't take anything with him so I don't think he left the camp." Chiron muttered. But as people became a little more concerned, it was a saytr who put them at ease. The goat man wandered over to the mess hall and started yelling. "DID ANYONE LOSE A SON OF ZEUS? 6'4", BLACK, WEARING A CHB SHIRT AND SHORTS? HE'S IN ONE OF OUR TREES IF YOU'D LIKE TO

CLAIM HIM." Lucas laughed and stood up. "He's ours dude! We'll come get him!" "PLEASE DO. THE NYMPH HE SLEPT ON TOP OF WOULD LIKE HIM REMOVED." The saytr yelled, then left. "Come on girls. Let's go collect our dear friend Sparky." Lucas declared.

The 3 demigods took the short walk into the woods before discovering the saytr and the tree nymph. "Hello. We're looking for the son of Zeus?" Dani asked. The nymph simply pointed up. They peered through the branches and about 10 feet up was Miles, dead to the world on a branch. "How did he get up there?" Roxie asked. "I don't know. I woke up and found him, so I sent Screamer to see if he was one of yours." The nymph explained. "Your name is Screamer?" Dani asked. "YUP." The saytr yelled. "And now we know why. Okay, what's the plan?" Lucas asked. "Let's see. There's no metal for me out here and I don't think the water spirits want Dani using them as a tower." Roxie began. "Looks like your up Birdman." Dani smirked. "Okay." Lucas shrugged and shifted into a falcon. He hopped forwards before taking off and landed on the branch next to Miles. "Come on Miles up and at em! Your missing breakfast." Lucas said, and the son of Zeus stirred. He woke up, looked around, and stretched. "About time someone came looking for me. What'd I miss?" Miles sighed as he flew down from his perch. "You gave Chiron a scare. He thought one of his world savers wandered off and got eaten." Dani explained.

"So why were you in the tree?" Roxie asked. "I was hot." Miles said, offering no other explanation. "So you left your rather cold looking marble house for a tree in the outside?" The daughter of Hephaestus asked. "Yeah." Miles agreed. "Well did you enjoy it?" Lucas asked. "Yeah." The son of Zeus confirmed. "Are you gonna thank The nymph?" Dani asked. Miles spun around and kissed the tree nymph Italian style. "You were a very hospitable tree." The nymph blushed and scrambled for her words. "N-no problem." She managed. "Thanks very much Miss..." Miles trailed off, wait for her to jump in. "Ash. Your welcome." The nymph smiled and faded back into her tree. "Alright then. Now let's go get food, and then train to save the world."


	10. Changing of the Guard

Miles has just about had it with Chiron. After breakfast the centaur has brought Miles, Dani, and Lucas to the training grounds while Roxie and TJ went back to work. Now it was 4 hours later and all Chiron did was have Miles and Dani fight while Lucas took potshots at dummies from a tree. The son of Zeus was no stranger to heat waves having survived four years of summer practices, but he was starting to wonder if Chiron had actually made the training grounds hotter then the the camp. Miles had to toss his shirt 10 minutes because he had sweat through it, and it had done almost nothing to help him. The daughter of the sea god had followed his example, her own shirt left behind in favor of the tank top underneath.

"Are we done yet horseman? It's like a hundred degrees out here!" Miles exclaimed as the centaur looked on. "Not yet. The enemies you will encounter on your quest won't give to the opportunity to rest. Their pursuit is relentless, so must be your journey." Dani shook her head and sighed, twirling a knife in one hand. "How are we supposed to go relentlessly if your running us into the ground? Besides, I really don't think we need to practice." The girl pointed out. "So you think Daniella. But when fire giants try to tear you limb from limb, you'll be thankful you trained." Chiron chuckled to the girls dismay.

"Ready weapons." The centaur commanded. Dani and Miles groaned but got back into combat ready. "Fight." Chiron said, the air filing with the sound of swords clashing. As had been the case since they started, Miles was the aggressor, closing the space between them and swinging relentlessly. Dani took a more passive approach, blocking everything that came her way and taking a few swings back to force the son of Zeus back. This had been going on for close to 4 hours and neither had seized an advantage, held in a deadlock.

Chiron wandered around the ring, watching the two with a strange intensity. The centaur didn't say anything, but the scene reminded him of a similar sparring between a certain son of Poseidon and a daughter of Athena. The fight finally came to a head when Dani tried to close the gap and got in to close. Miles took advantage and swatted the girls weapon away, leaving her defenseless. "YES! ITS FINALLY FUCKING OVER." He exclaimed, falling over in ecstasy while Dani could only laugh at his exhausted nonsense. "Celebrating a little early child? This is only the first of many." Chiron pointed out. "Oh gods, you even make winning suck!" The son of Zeus groaned, sitting up.

"Perhaps you've earned a break for a moment. But you won't have this luxury of going easy on your enemies. Practice makes perfect." Chiron said as Dani sat next to her companion. "Come on dude, you can take the training wheels off. Practice is for beginners, this isn't our first time in the cage. I could take anyone you got, guaranteed." Chiron shook his head in amusement. "Bold talk. But the dog that barks seldom bites Mr. Donovan." Miles rolled his eyes and gestured with his sword. "Y'know I've heard that my whole life. 'Your egos to big, your selfish, your to confident!' How the fuck is somebody to CONFIDENT. I don't talk like I'm the best, I AM the best. No other way about it." Miles insisted. Just as he finished a laugh was heard from around the corner. Chiron couldn't help but smirk at the poetic justice of it all. He recognized that laugh.

From around the corner came Clarisse, the eldest child of Ares and one of the last holdovers from the battle against Gaea. The girl had grown into a fine young woman, blonde curls down past her shoulders and still as tone as she was in her youth. "That almost sounds like a challenge." Clarisse snickered, the group of kids waiting for battle practice fanning out behind her. "And who would this be?" The son of Zeus asked, eyeing his newfound competition. "Mr. Donovan, this is Clarisse LaRue, senior counselor of the Ares cabin and a veteran of two battles for Olympus. Clarisse, this is Miles, son of Zeus." A hungry light flashed in the woman's eyes upon hearing the athletes lineage. "Zeus Huh? Big name to live up to." Miles shrugged. "Nothing new. The best expect the most."

Clarisse couldn't help but laugh. "The best? YOU? That's funny." "What gives you that idea?" Miles asked. "I teach this class for a reason boy. Your on my turf. It wasn't made for people like you." The daughter of Ares bragged. "People like ME? What's that supposed to mean?" Miles said. "You know what I mean. Wannabes, thugs, dirty little street hoods who could never measure up." "Clarisse!" Chiron interjected, but there was no deescalating this. "Why don't you prove it?" The athlete demanded. "What?" "Come on, if your really the best this place has you'll prove it right here right now. Show a dirty street boy what he's missing!" Miles stalked around the ring as he spoke, fired up to fight. "Fine. I'll even give you first swi-" The daughter of Ares didn't even finish before Miles swung, caving the side of her helmet in barehanded. The girl stumbled back, almost tipping over before throwing her helmet to the ground and touching the blood now coating her face, a vicious smile spreading across her lips. "Now we're talking. Let's get it on boy!" Clarisse demanded. She brought out her spear, Miles grabbed his sword, and the two went at it.


	11. Ares's Warning

The sword fighting class circled in and created an arena of sorts as Miles and Clarisse closed the gap. The son of Zeus had no interest in waiting, swinging first and repeatedly going for Clarisse's neck. The veteran calmly blocked each with her shield, giving no ground as Miles pressed further. As he reared back for another swing, Clarisse jabbed in, the tip of her spear crackling with electricity as it just missed the boys ribs. Miles responded by shield bashing her. "He's a scrappy one!" The daughter of Ares laughed, backing off and jabbing again. Now she had Miles on the defense, giving the athlete a crash course in almost getting stabbed and electrocuted. The jabs came faster and stronger, each getting closer to the boys flesh as she pushed Miles to the edge of the ring.

Clarisse went in, hoping to end the fight. Miles has other ideas, swinging his shield down and knocking the spear out of the woman's hands so he could elbow her in the face. "OW!" She yelped, clutching her face as the blood returned. "That's dirty!" Clarisse yelled. "All's fair when it's life and death!" Miles taunted as the The daughter of Ares grabbed the sword strapped to her leg and went two handed. The two squared up again and it quickly became apparent that Clarisse was outclassed. Miles toyed with her for a minute before moving on, jamming his sword into the woman's hand and disarming her easily. The son of Zeus knocked Clarisse to her knees, tossed his shield, and took the stance to take his opponents head off her shoulders. "That's enough Miles." Chiron commanded. "No it ain't." Miles responded calmly, masking his inner rage. "Put the sword down." Miles shook his head and made no move to do so. "Just one swing should do the trick, clean off." He said. "Miles...don't do anything stupid." Dani pleaded. Footsteps across the way, and Lucas emerged from the woods. "Woah. Sparky, you alright?" The marksman said cautiously. The son of Zeus let his eyes flick to Lucas for a moment, not allowing Clarisse to move. He didn't have his guns out, but Lucas seemed good at hiding them. "Yeah. Fine." Miles said, nodding at Clarisse. The woman nodded in agreement. "Peachy." She spat, never breaking eye contact.

The crowd was silent again, then applause. A single person clapped as he emerged from the woods where there was no path. The man stood above the rest, hair swept back and dressed in full armor. He was decent looking but his eyes were cruel, drinking in the sight of Miles in position to kill. "Bravo child, bravo. Not many best my favorite daughter in combat 1 on 1." The crowd quietly dropped to their knees, almost as if gravity forced them to. The only one who stayed up was Miles, who was very confused about why his friends were kneeling. "Am I missing something?" He finally said, earning a small grin from the man. "You aren't the brightest bulb are you. I'm the father of the girl you tried to decapitate." Finally it clicked. "YOUR Ares?" Miles exclaimed. "You seem shocked?" The god of war chuckled. "I'll be honest I Uh...I expected gods to be taller." The athlete admitted, stepping forward to confirm he was somehow taller than Ares. The gods eyes flashed with a cruel delight, as if imagining all the ways he could carve up the son of Zeus. "Careful boy. You wouldn't want to say something stupid would you?" Suddenly the rage returned and Miles looked ready to fight again. "I ain't NOBODIES boy." The athlete seethed to the gods amusement. "Right right, that's what set you off. Clarisse forgets her _manners_ sometimes. I guess I do to." Ares chuckled. "So what're you doing here?" Miles asked, contemplating murdering the god. "Oh not much. I heard one of my kids getting whipped in a fight and figured I'd come see what all the fuss was about. Right about the time you tried to kill my daughter." Ares pointed out. "You did that?" Miles asked quietly. "Oh yes. My aura lets me put thoughts in the minds of those angry enough to listen. It helps when they've got blood on their hands though."

Dani looked back between Miles and Ares and suddenly went pale. "B-Blood?" She stammered as Ares took the athletes palms. "Yes yes, blood and your friend here's swimmin in it. Pedophiles, gang members, gamblers, thieves, football players, those girls who called your little sister a slut for getting her first kiss, and all rooted in...oh." Miles tried to pull his hands away but found the god held tight. "Rooted in what?" Lucas asked. "So that's your poison is it Miles? You think you can fix the past by writing on the walls of the present?" The athlete shuddered and tries to repress the urge to murder Ares. "Miles? What is he talking about?" Dani asked carefully. "Has she not come up in conversation yet? Oh that's a shame. Didn't mean to spring that on you!" Ares laughed, and Miles swung in a fit of rage.

"OW!" The god flinched and stumbled backwards, clutching his face. Ares seemed stunned as his hands came away covered in ichor, dripping gold onto the ground. "That's a hell of a hook you got there boy. But I'm not the one you want to hit. You won't survive what happens." "Try me." Miles went in to swing again, only to be held back by Dani and Lucas. "No dude, it's not worth it!" The son of Hermes yelled as Miles struggled to get away. "Yes it is! I'll kill that smug bastard myself." Miles argued. "Fight all you want boy, I'm far to strong for you to win. Think of what your sister would want. Surely not you splattered all over the woods." Miles stared back at Ares, thinking hard about his odds. "You don't know anything about her, or me." He finally said. "Don't I Miles? You grew up in one of the most dangerous cities in the world, dealt with gunshots and corner boys on a daily basis. You had to grow up different than these kids, you had to be strong. For your mother, who worked 3 jobs to keep you in your apartment. For your friend who owed the drug dealer money and was going to get killed if you didn't stop him. And of course for your sister, who had everything taken from her at such a young age. You took it upon yourself to punish him Miles. You wanted justice so you went and got it. The gang took you in because you punished the wicked. You might not believe me Miles, but we're more alike than you think." The athlete cringed at the thought of it. "We are NOTHING alike." Ares chuckled and shook his head. "Sure kid. Whatever let's you sleep at night."

"Now! I do believe it's time to be leaving for your quest. _Right,_ Chiron?" Ares prodded, raising an eyebrow at the centaur. "Uh, Yes. It is in fact time. But I think we have something to show before they do." From above, the rush of jet engines. The crowd looked up to see a MEKA unit soaring over the trees and touching down in the arena. The campers scrambled back as the unit turned around to display Roxie at the controls. "Rox?!" Dani exclaimed. "Hey guys! Didn't it come out nice?" The gamer said excitedly. "That thing looks like it's got some firepower." Lucas whistled, patting one of the cannons. "Yup! And that's not all." Roxie brought up a new screen and with a few clicks summoned two War drones from behind the trees. "Guys, this is Kratos and Master Chief. Personal security dogs." The questing team couldn't help but whistle at the sight of all Roxie's work. "But what about when your. It fitting?" Dani asked. Roxanne simply pressed a button and a green beam of light fired down, absorbing the MEKA and leaving the hacker behind. "Digital Orbital Drop. Anytime, anywhere." Roxie declared proudly. "Well the fates certainly have made some strange choices with this party. Anyhow, you will need to gather your belongings boys and girls. Your quest must leave today." Miles eyes suddenly widened. "Today? Like...like today today?" "Unless you mortals changed the meaning of today, yes." Ares agreed. "What's the matter dude?" Roxie asked. "...I have to go talk to someone." The athlete said, disappearing without another word. "What's eating him?" Lucas asked. "I think I know. I'll go check on him." Dani said.

The daughter of Poseidon traced her friend back to his cabin. "Mi-" Dani began as she opened the marble door, only for Jades hand to clap across her mouth, silencing her. Dani raised an eyebrow, and the daughter of Zeus pointed towards the bathroom, where Miles could be heard. "Whats he doing?" Dani asked. "Phone call. Shut up." Jade replied. Through the door, they could just hear the other demigod. "Please work please work please work." Miles muttered. Silence for a minute, long enough to hear the answering pick up. "Shit! The fuck is wrong with this thing?!" He exclaimed, clearly frustrated. "He did this before?" Dani asked. "3 times. He doesn't know phones don't make calls here." Finally, Miles sighed and gathered himself. "Hey Kiki. It's me. I know I'm not there right now and you and mom are probably a little scared. Tell mom this is Dads idea. I'm gonna come back soon. I don't know if I'll be there today. Just...just hold on for me. I'll be back. Love you Kiki." Then the end of the call, the girls scrambled out of the cabin as Miles stepped out. "What was that?" Dani asked frantically. "I don't know, don't ask him about it!" Jade said as her half brother emerged. "Sup?" He said, as composed as ever. "Nothing! I mean...good luck!" Jade said, running off. "The hell was that about?" Dani simply shrugged. "Beats me. You ready to go?" She said. Miles sighed and looked out towards the exit. "As ready as I can be."


	12. THERES TO MANY FUCKING SNAKE DEMONS

Miles and Dani returned to find Ares had left for Olympus and Lucas and Roxie looking annoyed. "Where'd the douche go?" Miles asked, still harboring resentment. "Something about a discussion in the throne room? It's not important. But she said something that needs explaining." Lucas replied, turning to Dani. "What, me?" "Yeah you. Ares said we were supposed to go to Vegas because of something you were the kid about. Feeling like sharing Princess?" The son of Hermes prodded. Dani sighed and filled everyone in on her dream. The plane, Detroit, Miles getting laid out by the cyclops, and Hailey in the meat locker in Vegas. When she was done, Miles raised an eyebrow. "Why would I bring you guys back to Detroit? 2 little girls and a white boy out there won't do anything but get us shot at." "It didn't sound like it would be your idea. Hailey said Aphrodite would force you to go back if you didn't come on your own." "But how? Can she really just make him?" Roxie asked. "It sounded like Aphrodite thinks she can. Something about love." The son of Zeus outright laughed. "That's actually funny. I hate where I grew up, everything about it. I have no love for anything in that dumpster fire of a city." "I don't think it was the city Sparky. Hailey kept saying her, Aphrodite can bring us to Detroit because _she's_ there. You love someone in that dumpster fire or Hailey wouldn't have told me that." The daughter of Poseidon said. "Okay, then who did you leave in Detroit that she'd be able to bring you to?" Lucas pressed. "Let's see. My friends, but I don't love them. The gang, but that's more family than love. My mom and my sister are there, but I don't think even they could get me to risk the fate of the world like this." Dani held back that she knew for than he thought about his sister. "Think hard dude. Is there _anyone else_ , as much as you might think it's not them." Dani said, not letting Miles out of an answer. Finally the son of Zeus sighed. "Alright, there is someone else. Someone I'd go back for." Suddenly, a smirk twitched across Roxie's face. "It's your girl isn't it." The others turned to the youngest demigod in surprise. "Uh...yeah actually. How would you know that?" Miles asked. "I have 2 older brothers, they both got finicky about girls like you are. And I saw you trying to Iris Message her last night." The gamer explained.

"Wait what?! Were you spying on me?" Miles exclaimed. "I was taking a break from building the unit and saw you at the fire pit. She's pretty." Roxie elaborated. "You weren't supposed to hear us! Gods."

Miles groaned. "So basically Aphrodite is going to bring us off course from our world saving mission so you can see your girlfriend. Fucking swell." Lucas groaned. "I'm sorry, it's not my fault Olympians have decided Angel is worth a million times more than the planet!" Miles vented. "It'll be fine. We'll try to keep our day trips to a minimum and save the world in spite of whatever hang ups the gods have with Miles and his girlfriend and Dani's obligation to rescue some kid we've never met. Easy." Roxie said, ending the argument. "Alright Fine. So how are we getting to where we need to go?" Lucas asked. "Oh don't worry. I've got it mapped out." Roxie tapped her watch and produced a hologram map of the US. "Okay, So were in New York right now. Normally if we just hopped on a plane to LA we'd be there in a few hours and have the world saved no sweat. But accounting for Detroit and Vegas, it'll probably add about a day or two to the trip. But that still gives us 4 days cushion of something goes wrong." Roxie explained. "So we leave now, get a nonstop to Detroit to meet up with Angel, fix whatever's wrong there, jump out to Vegas, rescue what's her name, land in LA the next day, and we'll have one goddess ready for her triumphant return in 3 days. Simple." The others nodded along. Roxie's plan sounded perfectly reasonable. Then again, so did a lot of things on paper. "So, were SURE about the plane thing? Even after my little spiel about impending window explosions." Dani asked, more than a little nervous. "It's the fastest way to LA. And if the plane does go under, I already know what to do. Just have Sparky keep the cabin pressure normal while I build a scrap wall replacement and Lucas keeps everyone calm."

The son of Hermes balked. "Me? Keep people calm? Your joking right?" "I'm serious! Your a convincing guy." Roxie assured him. "Whatever you say." "Alright then the only other question is how do we get to the airport? Something tells me Uber doesn't take dates for mythical summer camps." Lucas said. "We do have cars." A voice replied. The demigods turned to see Chiron and Mr. D waiting behind them. "As long as one of you has a license?" Chiron said. After a moment Miles raised his hand. "I technically have a license." Dani turned to him slowly. "What does technically mean." "It means I have a license with my picture, it's just not legal if you look close enough." The athlete explained. "So it's a fake ID? Have you ever driven a car before?" Lucas asked. "Oh sure a ton of times." "Good enough for me!" Dionysus declared, tossing Miles the keys. "Try to be careful." Chiron insisted as he led the 4 to a Lincoln 4 door. "I make no promises when it comes to world saving." Miles assured the centaur as they got in and Chiron went inside. The car started up lazily and an opera channel came on the radio. "Let me fix this." Lucas muttered from the passenger, attempting to flip through the stations but only getting opera, classical, and NPR. "Did he block off the aux?" Dani asked, revealing the aux port was covered up and a lock on the radio limited it to 3 channels. "At this point I'd really rather walk to JFK." Lucas groaned. "If this thing even makes it. Who takes care of this thing?" Miles agreed, listening to the engine putter sadly. "Sounds like we could use an upgrade." Roxie smirked. "You gonna jailbreak the car?" Dani giggled. Roxie simply reached out of the backseat and tapped her watch against the radio, and a Sombra skull appeared on the touchscreen. "Woah." Lucas muttered as Roxie, with a few taps, disabled the radio lock and the speed limit. The Lincoln roared back to life, freed from Chirons limitations. "She's street ready now boys and girls. What's the playlist for the ride?" Lucas took Roxie's hand and pulled up Spotify. "Let's find something good." The thief agreed, settling on Eminem. "Now we're cookin." Miles laughed as he hauled ass out of the camp, probably faster than he should have. Lucas cranked the stereo and the 4 demigods relaxed for a little on their way to JFK.

They finally arrived and hopped out to the surprise of the luggage handler. "Keep the car, we're not coming back for it." Dani assured the guy as the demigods strolled into the airport. Some quick work by Roxie while in line secured first class seats on the next flight, and after security all that was left was to wait for the plane. As they lazed around, Dani took notice of an old lady staring directly at them. Nothing about her looked out of the ordinary specifically, she looked like an average house dress wearing Grandma with a headscarf on, even though it wasn't windy. "Is she looking at us weird?" Dani whispered, attracting the attention of Lucas. "Yeah. Yeah she is. What's her deal?" Lucas whispered back. "I don't know. Just...try to ignore her. Maybe she's senile or something." But as the two began to turn away, the old lady hissed. "What was that?!" Roxie whimpered. "Did that grandma just hiss at us?" The old woman smiled, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth. Dani looked up again and her face was changing, pure black eyes and a crooked nose. The woman stood up, her dress falling away to show green, scaly skin loosely covered in the remains of a white dress. Her hair turned damp and stringy, and her fingers became claws. "I can smell your terror little one. So lost and afraid, so weak when you can't hide behind your toys." The demon cackled, forked tongue and all.

"Why is there a snake demon in the airport?!" Miles exclaimed as the woman stood up. "A son of Zeus. I smell something else on you...hatred. You've hated for so long child. So much anger in you. Why do you not just take a quick death?" The snake asked. "Miles, less questions more dealing with that thing!" Roxie pleaded. "Oh I'll deal with it." The athlete agreed, raising his and hand summoning his sword from his chain. "Right behind you dude." Lucas said, swapping over to gorilla mode. "Try and fight you arrogant fools. I only grow stronger!" The demon cackled, spitting venom at Roxie, who was only saved Dani pulling her out of the way. "Will you snap out of it?! We need our friendly robot!" Dani yelled as Lucas sent the snake flying. People in the crowd ran for their lives as the demigods fought off the snake. The demon continued to spit acid all over the place before hissing loudly. From around the airport 4 more snakes emerged, 3 acid spitters and one who shot fire. "Sisters of the Scale, help me kill these trespassing demigods to please father Python!" The demon hissed as the others closed in. "DANI! Hurry up and fix her and come help us!" Miles yelled, chopping the head off one snake while trying not to her torched. "Rox, I know this is freaky, but for the love of all that is good, Dunkin your giant robot and help me help them!" Daniella pleaded again. Finally the hacker came out of her fear trance. "S-sorry!" Roxie yelped, slapping her wrist and suiting up. "Thank gods!" Dani exclaimed, drawing her sword and drenching the fire snake in water from a tank on the tarmac. "You will pay for your insolence!" The sipping wet demon declared, blasting fire at the daughter of the sea. "Misty help me please!" Dani crossed her arms and her water angel appeared, forming a forcefield in front of the column of fire.

The blaze sprayed around the floor, lighting the airport on fire. "That's bad, that's really bad! Guys!" Daniella screamed as the flames got worse. "Our the door! Out the door NOW!" Miles yelled, killing another snake and Dani stabbed the fire snake in the chest, leaving two acid spitters. "To where, there's no cars!" Roxie yelled as they burst out onto the tarmac. "I got an idea, go with it!" Miles yelled as they sprinted towards a small jet getting refueled. The son of Zeus pulled open the door to find the plane empty. "Get in!" "Can you fly a plane?!" Lucas yelled as Miles flipped a couple switches and the jet fired up. "Kind of!" Miles yelled, pulling the door shut and throwing the jet into reverse as the snakes came sprinting out the door. "Their coming!" Roxie screamed as the plane shifted into forwards and started heading down the runway. As they gained speed and headed towards the ramp, the demons screamed, jumped, and sunk their claws into the plane. "MILES!" Roxie yelled as they started to peel the jet apart. The son of Zeus turned to see his friends panicking, the monsters closing in. "Fuck YOU." Miles slammed his hands against the walls of the plane and raised the pressure as far as it would possibly go. The walls shook hard as the pressure soared, and after a few seconds the snakes went flying off the side of the plane. Roxie quickly scrapped together a wall to seal up the plane as the autopilot leveled off to cruising altitude. The 4 stared at each other for a moment, sinking into their situation. "That was fun." Miles chuckled before passing out.


	13. Little Sister

Miles fell into a fitful rest, his powers exhausted. The son of Zeus found himself in a sort of ethereal half existence in a bedroom he knew well. The walls were painted a deep sea blue, pictures hung on the walls depicting the growth of the inhabitant. Miles was sprawled out on the bed, his head propped up on someone's knees. Everything hurt. The boy looked around the room before finding his favorite picture, showing him and the girl who owned the room embracing on the shore of Lake Michigan. The girl was smaller, light skinned with curly black hair down to her back and a small scar above her left eye from running into a fence at 4 during a pick up game. Miles looked at the picture before finally peering up at his girl, his best friend since kindergarten and one of the only people he trusted in the city. "Hey Angel." The athlete whispered.

Angel looked down and smiled, soft and sweet like a mother. "You gotta stop doing this to me baby. Scared me half to death popping in all misty like that." Miles stared up into her eyes, like emeralds. They always sparkled when she laughed. Miles liked when she laughed. "I had a problem to take care of." He said, not really paying attention to her words or his. She was all that mattered right now. Angel rolled her eyes and kissed his forehead. "There are other ways to solve problems Miles." She said as he began to flicker away. "Do I have to leave now?" The son of Zeus asked. "Your almost home. Kiki is waiting for you. So is the lady. You have to come to me baby." Angel insisted as the dream like trance ended. "I will. I promise."

Miles emerged from his sleep to a horrendous landing by Roxie. The plane skipped off the ground 3 times before barely careening to a stop a few feet from the fence that separated the runway from the freeway. "Fuck that was bad." The youngest demigod cursed as she attempted to get the plane to a gate. Miles stumbled out of the bedroom onboard to find Lucas on the floor with Dani in his arms. "What the hell happened Rox?!"Dani yelled, scrambling up and pushing the son of Hermes away. "I don't know! It was flying then all of a sudden it wanted me to land so I tried to land!" The hacker replied as Miles entered the cockpit. "Autopilot shuts off on approach to the destination." The son of Zeus explained, before he realized they were not at the destination. The airport was far nicer and had people coming in unlike his hometown. "This is not Detroit." He muttered.

"Yeah your little copilot was pretty insistent we'd end up crashing in the middle of Lake Superior if we didn't land here." Dani said as she and Lucas wandered in. "With that much fuel? Landing in Superior would count as getting lucky." Miles agreed. "So where are we?" "Well the _plan_ was to land in Chicago. But one of those snakes did a number on a turbine and we didn't gave enough power, so we settled for Memphis." Lucas explained, startling his friend. "Like Tennessee? Why of all places did you choose this place?!" Miles groaned as he sat down. "Look, it was close and we're alive. Why do you hate Memphis?" Dani asked. "I'm a dark skinned boy in the center of the white Dixie heartland. I stick out like Obama at a Klan Rally, and people in the south are not fans of individuals like myself." Miles explained.

"Look, I'm sure it can't be as bad as you think. We just need a car and we can leave. Besides, we have a week to pull this off, let's explore for a little bit!" Dani pleaded. The athlete finally sighed and relented. "Fine. We can explore for a little ON OUR WAY TO A CAR." Miles said, satisfying the daughter of the sea. With that, the 4 heroes gathered what little they had and struck out for a place to find some wheels. They grabbed a taxi to the main drag and wandered around, hunting for anything Miles could boost without a problem. This proved difficult because it was a tourist location crawling with cops. Dani paid this no mind, floating from store to store filling her bags with clothes and jewelry without a care in the world. "Should you really be doing that?" Roxie whispered as the daughter of Poseidon tried on a pair of sneakers. "It's a tourist spot Rox, its all overpriced anyway. I'm just skimming a little off the top." Dani assured her as she held up a tank top for her smaller friend. "That would look good on you." She said, throwing it in to Roxie's surprise. "Wait what?! No Dani I don't want anything you stole." The gamer protested. "Yeah but I'm doing it anyway."

The girls returned to find Lucas sorting through a few wallets and a purse and Miles grabbing a monkey wrench out of an open van for busting windows. "You been busy Lucas?" Dani asked as the boy looked up. "I fall back on old habits when in doubt. Tourist spots are always the best hunting spots." He agreed, cleaning out the cash and tossing the cards down the sewer. "What about you two? All that stuff looks pricey." Lucas said. "Call it a flash sale. Everything was 100% off." Dani smirked. "Guys this is a lot of illegal stuff, we shouldn't be carrying it out in the open." Roxie insisted. "It'll be fine. We're getting lunch first." Miles said, leading the way to an empty deli. "Is this place even open?" Lucas asked as they made their way to a lunch counter in the back. "Who cares, I'm hungry and it smells good." The athlete said as the cook and owner wandered out. The man was bigger then even Miles and at least 300 pounds. He reeked of cheap cigarettes and wine, and his smile revealed what teeth had left we're yellow. His voice sounded like he had been chewing gravel for years. "Hello my friends! You come for lunch, yes?" The man asked, all smiles. "Yeah. Do you have like a menu or something?" Dani asked, her usual charming self. "No no no, I know why you've come! I know what you need! No menu!" The deli man insisted, turning to work. Lucas raised an eyebrow, reading the back of his stained shirt, Dom's Deli. "Are you Dom?" He asked, and the man turned again. "This I am. I am Dom!" Dom yelled happily. "Like Dominic?" Lucas asked. "No no no, my name is long name! Greek name, family name for butcher!" Dom explained. "Greek? What is it?" Dani asked. "Domiclerus! I am Domiclerus the Butcherer!" The deli man said proudly. Miles stared at him for a moment. "Don't you mean Butcher, not Butcherer?" He asked. Dom turned and looked at Miles like he was crazy. "No! Butcherer! Like violent murder!" Domiclerus said. "Huh. Well Dom, I think we actually need to leave now. But thanks for offering lunch!" Miles said, turning to find the door had vanished. "Magic door. Disappears when Demigods enter my shop." Dom laughed.

"Demigods? That's a really specific door." Lucas said. "Well it works doesn't it? Sometimes I need to see if the door goes away before I talk about Demigods! But you...Domiclerus could smell you coming!" The Butcherer said happily, turning with her massive cleaver in hand. "What is that supposed to mean?!" Dani said indignantly. "Children of Gods smell different then mortals. The stronger the god, the stronger the smell. If it was just the small girl and the thief, I might have not noticed. But a son of Zeus AND a daughter of Poseidon, traveling TOGETHER? My friends, it was only a matter of time before someone found you. But I got you first!" Dom said proudly. "So your working with Python?" Dani asked as the 4 backed away from the counter. "No no no. I have no love for that silly snake. However, he placed a rather hefty price on your heads to make sure you don't get to Artemis and Delphi. If I kill you, I can open a new deli in a city that isn't full of racists!" Miles turned and looked at Dani. "I told you the south was on to some sketchy shit!" The athlete yelled. "Enough! Be honored puny demigods, you will now endure a first rate quality death from me, Domiclerus!" Dom yelled, swinging with his cleaver and scattering the heroes. "What do we do?!" Roxie yelled. Miles rolled his eyes and summoned his sword. "I got this. Dom, your death isn't quality at all! It's second rate at best!" The son of Zeus yelled as he stood up.

"Lies, all lies! My death is best death in city!" Domiclerus yelled, swinging but having his blow blocked. "Trust me, I'm a death connoisseur, and your death is that lowest grade of death!" Miles taunted, dodging another swing and jumping to the top of the counter. "I will show you my death puny boy!" Domiclerus bellowed, raising his cleaver and swinging down with all his might. Miles deftly rolled and watched as the metal blade came down on the counter, and the fuse box underneath it. The butcher screamed as electricity courses through his body, leaving him unable to let go of the cleaver. "I'll show you first rate death!" Miles laughed, swinging and cutting off the head of the butcher. The body collapsed to the ground and the head rolled off sadly, leaving the shop without an owner. The door reappeared and the 4 Demigods quickly headed out and stole the first car they could find, booking it out of Memphis.

As the city quickly faded into a smear of color on an otherwise drab Tennessee landscape, Lucas and Dani drifted off leaving Miles and Roxie awake for the drive. "How Do you do it Miles?" The smaller girl asked as they drove on. Miles raised an eyebrow and looked over. "Do what?" He asked. "Keep going through all this violence. You chopped the head off an Ancient Greek monster like it was nothing." Roxie said. Miles shrugged. "I saw it every day back home. It's just sort of something I learned to live with. Plus I got a family to look after. People to protect." Roxie looked down at her shoes, kicking her feet as she spoke. "I wouldn't know what it's like. Having a family that's worth saving." The smaller girl said. Miles raised an eyebrow at that. "What about that little clan you have down in the suburbs? Your mom and your brothers and all them." The athlete asked. "Their not my real family. I'm adopted."? Roxie said, barely above a whisper. The drive was silent for a moment before Miles spoke again. "Then what's your real family like?" He asked. Roxie shook her head. "You can hardly call it that. All I had was my mom, a drunken child abuser who scraped out a living stealing and pawning anything that wasn't nailed down. Then she blew it all on cheap vodka and trying to produce a terrible country album because she used to sing when she was a teenager. If I ever suggested getting food she'd beat the hell out of me and I'd get nothing." "So how'd you end up adopted?" Miles asked. "I guess she got sick of taking care of a kid. When I was 4 she left me on a corner in the French Quarter and never came back. A cop picked me up, a while later I was in foster care until I was 7. New family comes around and now I'm with them." The gamer laid out her life story.

"Well it sounds to me like you do have a real family. Just because you have a biological mom doesn't make her family." Miles said. "What do you mean?" "Rox, family isn't just related by blood. It's the people who would do anything for you, who when your sad do everything in their power to make you smile. Don't you have anybody like that?" Roxie thought for a moment. My brothers. I know they would, they have." "How?" Roxie sighed and began her story. "When I was in the sixth grade a group of girls found out I was adopted. They took it upon themselves to make my life a nightmare. Everyday they bullied me, spread rumors that I was a dirty street kid and I lived in a doghouse. I didn't have any friends and they just never let up. The last straw was one day, their leader told me I wasn't good enough for a real family. That I was just some trash that got thrown away. That I didn't deserve to be alive." By now tears were forming as the smaller girl recounted the darkest point in her young life. "I just wanted them to leave me alone. I thought if I could just sleep and never wake up...I couldn't do it Miles. I went to my brothers with a knife in my hand and told them everything. I've never felt so scared and alone then right there, locked in my room with that knife. The next day my older brother called in a favor with the softball team and the cheerleaders. They ganged up on my bullies. It wasn't a fair fight and I knew they didn't deserve one. After that, those girls never said a word to me. My brothers took the rap and said it was all their idea. I've never loved them more." "Then there you go. You do have a real family. And it sound like their worth saving. So let's go ahead and save them." Miles said. Suddenly Roxie turned to him. "Why do you care? You didn't need to sit through that story." "You remind me of my little sister. Whenever she had a bad day I would listen to her vent so she didn't bottle it up. Same for you. I take care of the people I care about." Roxie smiled and looked up at him. "Am I your little sister now?" Miles nodded. "Honorary." As they drove on, Miles felt something against his shoulder. He turned to find Roxie, asleep against his arm the way his sister would when they drove around. And he couldn't help but smile.


	14. A Lost Pup

Roxie found herself dreaming again, the same nightmare as every night. The dreams began the same way, her back in school pinned against the lockers by her bullies. The day this happened in real life, the catcher for the softball team happened to be in the same hallway and sent the bullies running for their mommies. But in her dreams, the catcher never showed up. Roxie was forced to take the beating she was spared from every night, her punishment for speaking up. As the beating took place, the gamer felt the dream change. Suddenly she was back in the French Quarter, in her moms little apartment. Roxie watched as her biological mom stumbled around the corner, visibly hammered.

"Little shit thinks she can talk back to me." Her mom growled. "Mommy please-" Roxie begged, only for the slap to come anyway. The girl cried out and fell down as her mother swung harder and harder. "Your the reason your father left me!" The drunk screamed, hitting her daughter again and again. As Roxie tried to hold back her tears, the dream changed again. The girl felt her skin heal, and the air turned cold. She lifted her arms to find herself in the woods. Roxie sat up and whimpered, scared. She wasn't alone. From behind the girl a wolf emerged. Roxie turned, but for some reason she wasn't scared. After working up her confidence, she met the wolf's eyes and was stunned. The creature peered back at her curiously, ice blue eyes glimmering with intelligence. The wolf seemed confused as to what Roxie was doing not running for her life. After a moment, the girl reached out. Something made Roxie want to pet the wolf. The hound obliged, wandering closer and sitting next to her. She stroked the creatures back, and the fur reminded her of her neighbors German Shepherd Benji.

Roxie sighed and looked at the wolf. "So whats your deal?" Out of nowhere, it talked, a deep booming voice like Ares. "Do you intend to survive this quest little one?" The wolf asked. Roxie was understandably startled but so much weird stuff had happened she didn't bother with questions. "I was hoping to. Why, are you something else that wants me dead?" The wolf shook its head and continued. "On the contrary my dear, it's in my best interest you live. A dead hound is no good to anyone, specifically me." The girl raised an eyebrow at the word. "Hound? I'm not sure I'm following you." The wolf shook its head and scratched his neck. "My reasoning requires an explanation that we lack the time to discuss. The important thing you need to know is that I very much need you alive and saving the moon goddess for reasons we will discuss after you save said moon goddess." Roxie stared back at the wolf for a moment, incredulous. "Normally people who don't want to kill me don't feel the need to state they don't want to kill me." "Just trust me on this." The wolf insisted. "Fine. Can I at least get a name?" The hound rolled his eyes as best he could. "Names aren't important right now. Scout is fine." Roxie giggled and stroked the wolf again. "Alright Scout. Where do you need me after I save Artemis?" The wolf looked up at the moon and thought. "When you finish saving the moon goddess, go to Full Moon Bay. The daughter of the sea knows where it is. I will tell you what I need to tell you when you arrive." Roxie shrugged and nodded. Satisfied, Scout took off running back into the forest. "What a good boy." The gamer laughed as her dream ended.

Roxie woke up still in the car, her head propped against the drivers arm. What surprised her was Lucas had taken over driving. The smaller girl stared up at the son of Hermes, embarrassed. "Um...Hi." Roxie finally said, moving away. "What's up Rox?" Lucas managed, not looking over. The daughter of Hephaestus turned back to find Dani smirking. "What?" "Did you cuddle Miles like you cuddled Lucases arm?" The girl laughed, earning a deep blush from Roxie. "I wasn't!" She insisted. "Oh you totally were! Do you always drool when you sleep by the way?" Dani taunted, furthering her friends shame. "I don't...I wasn't...W-Where's Miles?!" Roxie whined, covering her mouth in embarrassment. "Sparky got us to Chicago before he fell asleep and almost hit a truck. Turns out Detroit is actually backwards from Memphis so we have to backtrack a little bit, but we were making decent time until I found out Chicago had the slowest stoplights in the universe!" Lucas said, gesturing to the still red light. "That does not explain where Miles is." Roxie said pointedly. "Sparky is crashed out in the trunk until further notice. We get him up when we get to Detroit." Dani explained as the light finally changed.

"Alright. How long is that gonna take?" Lucas groaned as another light changed. "If we ever get out of here, like 4 hours. We get to Detroit, wake up Miles so he can get us to his girls place, they solve their problem, then we grab a flight out to wherever Dani's dream friend is." The thief outlined the plan as best he could. "So Sleeping Beauty, any new dreams to report?" Dani asked. Roxie collected her thoughts then spoke. "I met a magic wolf I named Scout who wants me to show up in Full Moon Bay when we finish saving Artemis. He seems to think you know where that is?" Dani froze at the very mention of Full Moon. "What?" Roxie asked. "N-nothing. I know where it is. I um...live there." The girl choked up. "Your house is on the bay? That's great, we can at least get a nights sleep when we're done!" Roxie said. "Uh...not exactly. I don't think house is the right word." Dani said, trying to explain without explaining. "They have apartments right on the bay? Cool!" The smaller girl replied, oblivious. "N-No. That's not-" Dani tried again, but Lucas beat her to it. "Rox, when Dani says she lives on the beach, she means it literally. She's homeless." The assassin put it rather bluntly, startling both girls. "LUCAS!" Dani whined, seemingly ready to die of shame. "What, you sure as hell weren't going to say it. What's the big deal, I am too." Lucas replied. "Wait, you're _both_ homeless?! That's so sad!" Roxie exclaimed.

"Not really. I've been on the streets since I was a kid. It's not so bad, just takes practice to live in the city. I'm sure Dani's view beats mine though." Lucas chuckled as Dani slid further into her seat. "Thanks Luca, your really a great person." The daughter of Poseidon grumbled. "Anyway, I can get you to Full Moon." Dani assured. "Good. Then let's get the hell out of here." Roxie agreed. Lucas gave up and began running red lights, ignoring the consequences until the car needed gas. "Do they pump gas in Chicago?" The thief asked as he pulled into a gas station. "Nope." But as Dani said this, a group of men emerged from the small gas station in uniform. "Huh. That's weird." Roxie mumbled as Lucas hopped out. "Hey guys. You fill it up?" The assassin asked, receiving no answer as the men surrounded the car. Finally one spoke, revealing his snake like eyes. "You have come far Demigods. But Father Python demands your heads!" Lucas ducked as a blast of acid narrowly missed his face. "Why snakes, why ALWAYS snakes?!" The son of Hermes groaned as he reached for his gun. Lucas had been practicing and had gotten pretty good at dictating what the gun switched to. This time it was a Carbine. "Suck it snake breath!" He yelled, pulling the trigger and dropping the lead snake. The others hissed and attacked to avenge their brother. "Uh, guys? Little help?!" Lucas yelled as he held off the snakes, but more emerged from the store. Roxie managed to scramble out of the car and suit up, instantly seeing the problem. "Pest control mother fucker!" The girl laughed, turning her weapons on the convenience store and torching it. The rest of the snakes scattered, leaving easy pickings for Dani. The fight wrapped up and Lucas moved on to something even more difficult: working a gas pump.

As the son of Hermes fumbled with the handle, Miles scraped himself together and hopped out. "What'd I miss?" Lucas rolled his eyes and handed him the gas nozzle. "Pump now. Story later." Miles shrugged and gassed up the car as Lucas filled him in on the new developments. "A _wolf?"_ The athlete was as confused as Lucas. "She named it Scout. And he wants to meet her on a beach in California when we save the world." The assassin agreed. "That's...that's weird." The boys jumped back in the car and drove out of Chicago in record time. Eventually the battle fatigue caught up and only Miles was awake. He didn't mind though. Wandering the streets at night was one of his favorite pastimes back home, and the silence kept him company. As the distance grew shorter, the athlete found himself reminiscing about his family. His mom and his sister and his friends...he couldn't bring them into this world. Now the gang was a different story. Miles smirked as he took the exit ramp and came up to the tracks, a favorite spot for settling grudges. As the car bounced across the train tracks, the rest of the demigods woke up to find the city sprawling before them. "Welcome to Detroit ladies and Lucas." Miles laughed. Then a spear came through the roof.


	15. Hometown Girl

Dani was only just waking up when Miles introduced them to his city. She was, however, very awake when the spear almost split their tour guide in half. The son of Zeus just sort of sat there, staring at the spear impaling the space between his arm and the seat about an inch from his chest. "You Uh...you said something about Cyclopes right?" Miles muttered, still staring at the spear. "I guess that's there way of welcoming us." Dani said, terrified. "Gonna be honest. I don't feel very welcomed." From the back of the car, Lucas finally spoke. "It was a warning. Throwers about 50 yards away, he has the high ground. One of the burnouts probably. He could have killed you immediately, he chose not too." But now Miles wasn't listening. He scanned the skyline for a moment before picking out a building. "Rox crunch the numbers. He's in the third window of the 4th building 50 to the south, give or take." The smaller girl quickly jotted down the figures on her arm and nodded. "That's the one." "Sparky, what are you thinking?" Lucas said. Miles casually put the car in park and stepped out. "He should have aimed for the head." The son of Zeus laughed as a purple aura began to crackle around him.

Miles took a few steps back and jumped from the street to the buildings roof, smashing through the asphalt and landing on top of the cyclops in question and about 5 other stories of building to the ground. The burned out apartments crumbled to the ground as Miles casually stepped out of the rubble. "So this is what a shot of Thor feels like." The athlete said as power coursed through his body. "Aye boy! It's like God steroids!" Thor laughed as they crushed two more buildings for fun. "What the hell is wrong with him?!" Roxie exclaimed as Lucas floored it after their companion. "I don't know, but leading the bad guys straight to us probably isn't the best idea!" Dani yelled as the son of Hermes swerved around parked cars while Miles punched a cyclops into Lake Michigan. "Let's go you one eyed freaks! Who's next! I'll kill every last one of you!" The son of Zeus laughed psychotically. More sprinted from their camps to take the challenge, and all of them enjoyed a first class trip back to Tartarus.

But as the army that captured Detroit fell as swiftly as it came, it came to the attention of the leader of the band of monsters. The biggest cyclops was asleep when he heard his brothers being killed by a madman and his band of friends. Said cyclops was understandably upset. Suddenly the ground began to shake as Lucas finally drove up next to Miles. The earth quivered as the massive cyclops emerged from his bed draped in sheep pelts and scooped up a ball of asphalt the cyclopses had been boiling. Then he reared back and threw it in the path of the car. "SHIT." Lucas yelled as the car fishtailed straight into the boiling tar which burnt the tires. "Out, out now!" The three demigods scrambled out of the now useless vehicle as the giant cyclops reached for another tar ball. "Kill them brothers. Kill them and bring me the head of the one who sent our kind away!" The cyclops laughed as his army got back together and ran after the 4. "Well don't just stand there, let's fucking run!" Miles yelled, leading the way through the streets of Detroit. He knew exactly where he was going.

"How the hell can you navigate this so well!" Dani yelled as they jumped a fence between alleys and ran past the Robocop statue. "I spent a lot of time wandering this god forsaken city. I know where I'm going." Miles said, carrying on without so much as breaking a sweat. "What position did you play again?" Roxie asked as the son of Zeus took another turn which was followed by a hail of spears. "Tight end. I lived for endurance days." Miles laughed. "I can tell." Finally the crew came onto the street Miles was looking for. "Almost there! Try not to die!" He yelled as he came closer and closer to his goal, a small house as the end of the block. But as he ran blindly down the street, Lucas noticed to late what Miles didn't. "SPARKY NO-" The hitman, But he was to late to stop his friend from sprinting directly into a tripwire. The line creaked, snapped, and sent a well placed spear straight into Miles side. The boy skidded into the middle of the road and rolled as few times before the pole snapped off, burying the tip deeper. "Shit!" Dani yelled, abandoning caution as she ran to help her friend and forgot the dream warning. A wicked pain flared through her back as the poison tipped sword came out her stomach. "Tsk tsk little sister. We warned you and you still came to meet Aphrodite. Very poor planning." Dani whimpered as the same cyclops from her dream appeared over her head. "No matter. You never would have made it past Meidion anyway. A pity the old devil gets to live." The foot soldier chuckled, sitting down next to his dying relative. Dani quietly reached up not for the cyclops, but for her dad somewhere on Olympus watching his little girl suffer a shitty, terrible death. " _How can you let this happen?"_ Dani whispered as the cyclops laughed. "Father is a cruel figure little sister. He will watch you wither and die, see the mortal world consumed by Python and say you died a heroes death to save face. It's what all your fathers will do. The Olympians are a vain and pitiful bunch. Promises broken, empires destroyed, lives lost for one petty reason or the other. A waste of a good life to fight for father if you ask me." Dani grimaced as the venom continued to kill her. " _Daddy..."_

Whether or not Poseidon was listening was anyone's guess. But Lucas was, in fact, listening. And he wasn't letting his friends land on deaths doorstep just yet. "Hey douche bag!" The cyclops turned and and found his head caught in a gorilla sized fist. Lucas roared in his face and threw him into the gathering crowd of cyclopses intent on watching the heroes die. Lucas and Roxie were the only ones who weren't poisoned because they stopped running like normal people. "Come on monkey boy, to the house!" Roxie laughed as she turned her cannons onto the crowd and watched them go up in plasma fire. Lucas quickly snatched up Miles and Dani and monkey ran to the house Miles was aiming for. Roxie brought up the rear and casually knocked on the door while holding off bad guys. "Hey love guru, your last hope to save that girl is currently dying if you're interested!" Lucas yelled as he tried to pick the lock. Suddenly the door was flung open from the inside and a girl filled the frame. "Son of a-Well don't just sit there!" She yelled as Lucas dragged Miles and

Dani into the living room. Roxie jumped out of her suit and slammed the door hard to deter any stragglers. They watched as the teenage girl dropped their friends on the floor and looked.

"I was supposed to make sure he didn't die, what the hell was I thinking?!" The girl cursed as she looked at the son of Zeus's wound. "The other one is also dying. Maybe help her too?" Lucas suggested as the girl whipped around, furious. "What kind of backup did Miles bring! You let him do this to himself!" She yelled, startling the son of Hermes. "US?! He ran headfirst into a cyclops army, WON, then sprinted into a tripwire trying to get into YOUR house. So I don't know who you are or what you plan to do to help him, but you better do it fast!" Lucas demanded. The girl groaned but conceded and placed her hand against the wound. Both demigods watched as light seeped from her hands into the wounds and their friends began to return to normal. The paleness went away and the green tinge left their eyes as the girl worked her magic. The spearheads slowly came out and the wounds sealed up, perfectly healthy. Lucas and Roxie stared in awe as their friends returned from death. "YOU'RE OKAY!" Roxie screamed and bear hugged Miles and Dani, the latter certainly more surprised to be alive then the former.

Miles smirked and embraced the girl. "I'm back from death again baby." She rolled her eyes and kissed his forehead. "I keep telling you not to do that, you never listen." Finally Lucas found his voice. "Wait hold on a minute. Who are you?! How do you know Miles? What the hell did you just do?!" The girl raised an eyebrow and turned back to Miles. "You didn't mention me to your new friends?" The son of Zeus rolled his eyes and gestures at the monsters outside. "It's been a weird time." The girl laughed and turned back to Lucas. "Then I guess I'll introduce myself. I'm Angel, Miles's girlfriend. And what just happened was I healed him with magic because I'm supposed to keep him alive." Lucas looked over at Miles for a moment and tried to understand. "So she's like...a guardian angel?" The assassin asked. "Yeah. But if you call her that I will feed you to the cyclopses." Miles smirked. "So where's our awaiting goddess?" Roxie asked as she sat on the couch. Suddenly from upstairs, a woman emerged and Lucas felt his jaw hit the floor. She looked like what would happen if you put Jennifer Anniston, Rihanna, and Alexa, his 7th grade crush into a blender and it worked. Lucas was sure his description wasn't close to what his friends were seeing, but he didn't care. She was beyond beautiful and she was here. Then she turned to Miles. "Miles! You're here and you didn't even die! That's so great!" The woman giggled as Miles stared back at her. "So you're the one who needed the kid or whatever?" The son of Zeus asked, half paying attention. "Yes. I am Aphrodite, the goddess of love. And I've brought you here to rescue my daughter."


	16. You Can't Choose Your Family

The 4 demigods formed a loose semicircle around the goddess of love so she could share her story. Aphrodite carefully sat and began, choosing to focus on Lucas. "I can see why the Fates gathered you for this. There's a lot of potential here. Looks and world saving I mean." The goddess chuckled as Miles barely suppressed an eye roll. "Sure. So what's the story here? Lost kid." Aphrodite turned and suddenly Miles grew very concerned. "Not _lost,_ Sparky. Hailey was stolen, kidnapped by a horrific enemy of mine Meidion." The woman said as Dani shuddered under the blanket Angel had given her. "Who is he? What is he?" The daughter of the sea asked. "Meidion was a citizen of Athens, a merchant in the city. By day he sold ladies garments and fabric, and by night he terrorized little girls. Meidion would lure them away from their homes with promises of sweets and dresses if only they came to him. When they were alone, he would brandish his sword at the girls and force them to their knees. He would tear off their dresses and have his way with them, calling them the dirtiest names. When he was done, Meidion would make them say one last prayer to the gods, then had beg for their lives and cry for their mothers before killing them just so he could savor the control for a little longer. And to mark his victims, he would carve a smile across their faces and leave them in public, bare for the world to see. The city called him the Smiling Devil, and he had Athens in a fit of terror." Aphrodite explained, remembering the dark times. "Well what happened? How did he get caught?" Miles asked, and the goddesses eyes flared again. "He drew my attention dear Miles. And the last thing you want from me is my utmost attention."

"Meidions mistake was that he was and is a cruel, careless, greedy old man. His final catch was a girl named Zelda, one of my daughters." "I don't think we learned about her." Roxie said, earning a shrug from the woman. "Not every demigod grows up to be destined for glory and world saving affairs child. Some fade into the background and become the namesakes for Nintendo games." Aphrodite said. "Was she a princess?" Roxie asked. "Her father had money, in those days it was the same thing. Anyway, Meidion lured her and took her prisoner, but instead of doing the deed he got greedy and decided he would keep my daughter as his slave to pleasure him whenever he chose. This gave Zelda time to pray, and that's how I discovered his identity. But because of how the rules were set at the time, I could do nothing to interfere because it was in Athens, where my not so charming relative was patron goddess. I pleaded with Athena to do something and finally she agreed and sent Ares to confront him. As you probably know, Ares is not exactly the god of people skills." Miles couldn't help but laugh. "You mean he's a dick."

Aphrodite sighed and nodded. "Evidently neither are you Miles, but yes. Ares took one look at Zelda and took matters into his own hands. The old devil took a thousand cuts all over his body from Ares sword and when Meidion was suffering Ares took moment to relive Meidion of his...tools of the trade, if you will." Aphrodite explained, eliciting a wince from Lucas. "Sounds...effective." Miles said. "He thought it was. Ares dragged Meidion out into the center of the city and decapitated him in front of all the citizens of Athens, proclaiming the Smiling Devil was dead by his hand. When his soul arrived in the Underworld, I made the trip to visit Hades and ensure proper judgement was passed. We don't always see eye to eye on things, but Hades was more than happy to ensure a long, arduous torture for Meidion that I suggested." The room was silent for a moment, then Lucas sighed. "I'll bite. What was your idea?" Aphrodite smiled fondly on the memory as she spoke. "I merely told Hades that many of the spirits of the girls Meidion violated would be more than happy to contribute to his suffering. So for what was supposed to be an eternity, the 12 girls of Athens stabbed the old coward at all hours of the day all over. His wounds never healed, he perpetually bled for as long as he was in the Fields of Punishment. This, of course, sparked his unbridled hatred for me and my children, which is why he...well you know." The love goddess trailed off, as if she suddenly remembered her daughters predicament.

"So what is so special about Hailey? I mean your a popular goddess, I mean you seem to have a lot of kids. What about this one has one of your greatest enemy's kidnapping her and has you so desperate to get her back." Miles asked, and the goddess sighed heavily. "Forces beyond my control forbid me from explaining. But without sharing the pertinent details, the day Hailey was born your father stood from his throne on Mount Olympus and said to me 'She is destined for greatness. She wields the power to save us all.'" The son of Zeus slumped when he heard this. "My dad said all that about her huh?" He mumbled, wearing an expression Lucas knew far too well. It was the face of someone doing everything he could to be acknowledged and somehow he was still getting ignored in favor of someone else. Aphrodite smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. "Your father is not an expressive person Miles. But know this, Zeus concerns himself with your destiny more than you think." The son of Zeus couldn't help but laugh. "I can't tell if that's a good thing."

"Be that as it may, I have nothing but confidence you'll find and return Hailey without incident. Of course, first you'll need to escape the city alive." Aphrodite said pleasantly as if the murderous cyclops army outside the house was just a mild inconvenience. "Oh of course. And where would we find the means to do that?" Miles asked as the live goddess smiled. "Your obliviousness grows more charming by the day Miles. Surely you know where to turn in this department?" The athlete simply shrugged. "I know lots of people, but the ones with monster experience are in this room." "Come on now Big Dog. I expect a little more credit then that." A voice from the stairs said, deep and rich like a jazz man. "Oh my gods." Miles whispered as he turned to find the steps occupied by his entire past. At the bottom stood two dark skinned guys, both tall and strong. One sported an old Tigers jersey, jeans and beat up nikes fresh with cyclops blood, an MK strapped across his back. The other was dressed nicer, black leather jacket over a blue tee and jeans with nicer Jordan's and a mossberg in hand. Above them, an older woman in what looked like church clothes and pearls held hands with a smaller girl, no older than 10 in a worn football jersey and leggings. "Miles!" The girl yelled, squirming past the boys and running at him. The son of Zeus was to shocked to make a sound, only sweeping the girl up and bear hugging her like he was scared to let go. Finally he managed to speak. "Hey Kiki." Miles murmured as the girl hugged tighter. "Mom said you would be gone longer but I knew you wouldn't! I just knew it!" Kiki said. "I didn't think you guys would be here. _Any_ of you." Miles said. "Don't blame us, Love Guru dropped by and said you would need us." The older guy said.

Finally it was Lucas who managed to emerge from the ocean of weird. "Woah woah woah slow down now. Miles who are these guys, what's going on?" The assassin asked, quickly reinforced by the girls. "I can explain very little. Uh, this is my sister and my mom." Miles began, gesturing at Kiera and the older woman. "Tigers is Reggie and leather is Andre my Uh...from the..." He trailed off, unsure of his phrasing only for Reggie to swoop in. "We're his business partners. Ain't that right Andre?" The younger one said, flashing his best smile. "You could say that. We handle a lot of...business." The older one agreed. "And this is Lucas, Dani, and Roxie my...fuck I never thought I would have to explain any of this." Miles admitted as Andre cracked a smile. "Expaln what? That your the son of an ancient god and you collected this band of friends because you were given a quest to save the world from a different god that no one else but you can see?" Reggie asked. "And you kind of feel like your losing at first but then you meet other people like you and everything about your weird existence just kinda...evens out?" Andre finished. Miles could barely think, but managed to speak. "How?" And from the shadows came the last person Miles wanted to see. Ares flashed his best smile as he put his hands around his sons. "Miles! So nice to see you again!" The War god declared as Miles stared in anger. "THATS your dad?" He said . "I know right! Isn't great when things fall into place?"


	17. What IS Normal?

Miles continued to gape in awe at his two best friends, people he had trusted with his LIFE, now coming to him as spawn of someone pretty high on the athletes shit list for having known him for a such a short time. But for all his processing, Dani beat him to the obvious question. "Uh, Ares? Why do you suddenly look so...combat-chic?" The daughter of the sea asked. The war god now wore camo fatigues and his hair close cropped military style. "Ah yes, you 4 are used to my other manifestation." Ares agreed, and suddenly he was the dirty biker Miles tried to decapitate. "It's easy to explain. If you were paying attention in class you know that the Olympians has both Greek and Roman forms. They had different characteristics and ideas to better suit the attitude of the nations. The Greeks were laid back and fluid, while the Romans were more about rigidity and order." The god explained as Roxie put it on paper. "Your Mars now. Not Ares." The youngest said. "Precisely!" Mars boomed, shaking the room. "And that makes you two his sons...Demigods. Brothers?" Dani asked. "Half-brothers. We only have the fucked up side of the family in common." Andre said, gesturing at his father. "So wait, what's the difference between Roman Demigods and Greek Demigods?" Lucas asked. "EVERYTHING!" Mars exclaimed, and the house shuddered again. "Hey! Stop shaking my house!" Angel demanded. "Sorry. Anyway, Roman heroes are all about order and law and combat strategy. They make plans, learn the enemy, each army has a chain of command that every soldier follows. They invented a lot of modern military structure the West still uses!" The war god declared, beaming with pride.

"And the Greeks?" Lucas said again. The god rolled his eyes and shrugged. "It was different in the old days. When we were still in Greece I had high hopes for strategies to be born and generals to be proud of. The Spartans got it right, the rest of them were a little off the mark. Now...it's a lot of improvising. No Greek will be the next great military genius, but it makes for some very entertaining blood baths!" Mars said cheerfully. "What else? Not war related I mean." Roxie asked. "Oh, the less interesting parts. Well in the Roman camp you have what are called legacies. That's a fancy way of saying they aren't direct descendants of Olympians, but maybe their parents were. With the Greeks, all of you are directly linked to your godly parent. That's why more Greek heroes had Olympian abilities and Romans didn't. And in the Roman camps rank and reputation is everything. There's a reason these two ended up back here." Mars said wistfully. "Good or bad?" Miles asked. "Depends on who asks. Anyway with Greeks it doesn't matter as much, you can do whatever as long as you can fight. The only thing both sides agree on is surrender." The god said. "What does that mean?" Dani asked. "There's a saying. The Romans die for honor. The Greeks die for glory. The Norse die for fun and none of them know what surrender means." Mars said cheerfully.

"Okay then now I have to know. If reputation is everything and all Romans want is honor, what are these two doing running a street gang in Detroit!" Miles finally asked. "See the gangs kind of a cover. It's more of an army we also use for gang activity." Andre began. "The short story is the leaders were told someone, sometime in this city would come along and would need to be trained because he was one of the keys to saving the world." Reggie quickly said, and suddenly it clicked. "Shit that's me ain't it?" Miles said as Mars slowly clapped. "He does have a brain! Wonderful!" "So basically you got a promotion to wait around until I came along and teach me to kick ass so I could save the world?" Miles asked. "That's actually pretty close." Reggie agreed. "So what was the promotion to be war dogs?" Finally Andre rolled up his sleeve and Reggie moved his sleeves, revealing their SPQR tattoos, 10 years for Andre and 8 for Reggie, the symbol of Mars prominently displayed. "Your talking to the Praetor and Legion Commander of the Northern Guard, lead of the First Northern Legion." The War god beamed. "Is that just a fancy way of saying you two are in charge of the army in this part of the country?" Miles asked. "That's exactly what that is." Andre agreed. "That's...that's pretty badass." The athlete said. "It is now. When me and Reggie first got here we found out it was a glorified border patrol unit in an area with more human threats than monsters. Then I came up with the idea of legitimizing our cover story of being a gang by actually doing gang things. A couple years later Prince pointed you out in the courtroom and the rest is history." The Praetor said, eyes gleaming with pride. "How did you know I was what you were looking for?" Miles asked, and Reggie could only shrug. "I couldn't explain it then and I can't explain it now. I just had a feeling." But before the conversation could go on, a muffled explosion was heard and the house shook.

Dani rushed to the window and found a series of arrows, Greek Fire pots, and assorted weapons impaled in a glowing transparent barrier of light. "What's with the force field?" The ninja asked, and Angel casually raised her hand. "Hang on, you still have to explain this one! What's your weird background healer girl?" Lucas demanded, and Aphrodite cut in. "That ones my doing. Every so often when a great hero is born into dangerous surroundings I send them a guardian spirit to keep them alive until fate decides their needed. Their not unlike the angels of other faiths. Suddenly Miles looked like he swallowed a rock. "Oh baby no. Not you too." The girl smiled sadly as suddenly her wings arrived in a burst of light. "Sorry baby. Me too." The son of Zeus couldn't help but fall back onto the couch. "So I'm a demigod, my best friends are Demigods and soldiers in an army everyone thought was dead, and my girlfriend is an angel." "Valkyrie." Angel corrected. "Is ANYTHING what I thought it was!" Miles yelled, feeling like his brain was melting out of his ears. Suddenly a small set of arms wrapped around him. Miles looked down and found Kiera hugging him. "It's okay Miles. Their still them even if their a bunch of weirdos. Just like I still love you even though you're not regular." The little girl said. Miles sighed and hugged her back. "You're right Kiki. It's just...a lot." He said, and Andre shrugged. "You know what they say man. Reality is a hell of a lot stranger then fiction." This was punctuated by reality slamming against the door again. "This isn't gonna hold forever!" Angel yelled as another crash was heard.

"Alright whats the plan?" Miles said, standing up. "Where we are isn't safe anymore. We're gonna move you to the garage and get you the hell outta here." Reggie said. "What about them?" Miles said, gesturing to Angel and his family. "I took care of that. In addition to Angels barrier your family is protected by divine rites. Any monster that tries to harm them is vaporized." Ares explained. "And Angel?" Miles said. The girl smirked as a spear of light appeared in her hand. "It ain't just for show baby." "Sounds great, now how are we getting to the gar-" Lucas began, only to be silenced by Andre. The house fell quiet, and over the commotion a quiet roar of an engine was heard. Coming their way fast. "You're about to hear a whole lot of pissed monsters shut up." The kingpin said as, from the street a massive armored truck came speeding down the street. Imperial Gold plating covered the chassis as it pulled to a stop, the symbol of Mars stamped prominently into the hood. "You didn't." Miles whispered, and Reggie laughed. "Oh yeah we did." Suddenly, openings appeared along the grill of the truck and red lights took aim at the crowd. Just as suddenly, a hail of gold and bronze reduced a large chunk of the monsters to dust. As the rest scrambled away, Lucas finally composed himself. "It's beautiful." He said as the back doors opened and a squad of Roman commandos in full battle armor arrived. "That's our ride." Andre grinned.

The Demigods quickly piled into the back and the truck sped off into the night, legionnaires hanging of the side with weapons drawn to deter the bolder monsters. In the back the 4 sat with a squad of gang legionnaires that Miles was suddenly looking at in a brand new light. "So the whole crew is actually just Roman half-bloods in disguise the entire time?" The athlete managed, looking around at the people he had known for years who had led double lives right in front of him. "Yup. All of them." Andre assured him. "Wow. That's really...that's something." Miles said, helplessly staring at his friends. After a while the truck came to a stop. "Everybody out." Reggie commanded, and the half-bloods left the truck to find themselves in a cavernous warehouse. The building was full of cars and people building weapons and armor, all in Roman armor. "What is this place?" Dani asked as Reggie lead the way. "This is The Shop. Every vehicle, weapon, and piece of armor we use is born, built, and tested right here, thanks to brightest hood rats Camp Jupiter could offer." Reggie laughed as one of the people suddenly grabbed Roxie's watch. "Hey! Give that back!" The girl demanded. "Relax, you'll get it back. That trick with the mech suit is pretty good, but if you're gonna survive you'll need more than one trick up your sleeve." Andre explained as the kid disassembled the watch and connected it to his computer. After a few moments he returned it. "So what's different?" Roxie said, wiping oil off her screen. "You ever watch Ben 10? Consider that your Omnitrix." The kid explained before going back to work. "Dude." The tech wiz mumbled, scrolling through her new options. "Come on, we don't have a lot of time." Prince insisted, ushering them towards a collection of absurdly expensive cars. "Time until what?" Lucas asked. "Until we get invaded genius!" Andre declared from across the room, now in full armor.

"Invaded?!" Miles exclaimed. "Well yeah. Did you think the monsters just went away? They know where we are." Reggie said. "Well know but somehow I didn't think you were getting invaded. Wait why are we leaving then?!" The son of Zeus said. "Because you have to go save a little girl then the world! Besides, we get invaded all the time. Nobodies died yet." Andre declared.

As he said that, a thunderous crash was heard as the door to The Shop bent in. "Right on time! In the Ghost!" Reggie said, ushering the 4 into a brand new Phantom. "Holy shit dude." Lucas said. "Nice right. She's loaded with weapons so you'll have no problem getting out, and it's got a direct line to us so we can get you out of the city." The younger leader explained as another projectile slammed into the doors. "That's your cue! Go!" The back door slowly rolled open as King got the Romans into formation. "It's about time we got to kick some ass again." Andre laughed as the front door nearly caved in. Reggie returned, Eagle in hand crackling with energy at the presence of monsters. As the 4 sped off into night connection was established and they had a live feed of the Northern Guards fight. The door finally caved and the cyclopses rushed in, only to be mowed down by a hail of imperial gold gunfire. The Romans were, among other things, impeccable shots and entering The Shop proved to be a tall order for the invaders. Even the ones who made it inside were met with a swift blast of lightning from Reggie while Andre simply sat back and watched the slaughter like a true Roman general.

It was going great until it stopped going great. Even in peak combat condition, the Northern Legion was only one regiment, and the cyclops army was seemingly endless. Monster troops crushed against the door, pushing harder and harder until creases formed in the thick metal walls large enough to slip through. As the bloody warfare raged on King sensed his troops wavering. They couldn't carry on forever. And suddenly, the casualty. A cry was heard and the fearless leader turned to see a girl no older than 14, spear buried in her abdomen, collapse as the enemies continued to pour in. "Willow..." Miles murmured, touching the screen. More Romans fell, overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. Finally Andre spoke. "Reggie, take them out the back." The leader said, staring as the monsters closed in. "Andre, don't do something stupid." Prince insisted. "Do as your told." "An-" "DO IT." King commanded, and Reggie caved and summoned the army back out of the shop. "What is he doing?" Miles said, flicking between the screen and the street. Finally the cyclops entered The Shop, grinning with his mangled maw. "Well well well. One lone Roman stands against the might of my entire army! You are as brave as you are stupid little one." The leader laughed, spear drawn and ready to end the life of the Praetor. "What are you doing Andre?!" Miles pleaded with the screen. Without hesitation, the just turned 21 leader produced a small bronze sphere from his pocket. "I am just one soldier. But I intend on going out with a bang." And with that, King placed his thumb on the detonator. Within a second, a massive, earth shattering BOOM was heard across the motor city, shaking the buildings to their very core. Miles watched as his mentor, his leader, one of his idols simply disappeared in the fireball, gone in an instance. The son of Zeus leaned back into his seat, the car no longer moving. At a loss for words, Dani placed her hand on his shoulder. "Why...why do they take everything?" Miles asked, talking to no one in particular. "I don't know Sparky...but I know that someone's needs you right now. And I know that Andre would want you to do your job." Dani managed. Miles sighed and slipped out of the drivers seat. "Someone else drive. Please." After a moment, Lucas slid over and let Miles take his spot. "Fine. We'll go save the world. And when we're done..." The athlete muttered, staring out the window. "I'll do what has to be done."


	18. Shadows in the Light

The motley crew of heroes drove on into the night, Lucas taking command while Miles continued to contemplate jumping off a bridge. He had been getting a barrage of texts from his crew, mainly Prince having a minor panic attack about suddenly being in charge and Angel updating him on the movements of the remaining monsters through Detroit. This did nothing to take his mind off the fact one of his best friends had died, and he had done nothing to prevent it. As midnight came and went Lucas and Roxie drifted off, leaving Dani at the wheel and Miles stewing in his thoughts. "You gonna sleep big guy?" The ninja asked. Miles only response was a bitter laugh. "Not in this life Princess." Dani sighed and went back to the road. "He really meant a lot didn't he?" The athlete sighed and looked out the window. "Andre was more of a father than my real dad ever was. He saved my ass in that courtroom, and he was the one who kept me in school instead of going full time in the gang. He made sure that any money I got was going to my mom to keep us in the house. Andre knew everything about the streets, every homeless kid worshipped him. He put kids through school on his own dime, saved entire families. And me and Reggie... we've been like brothers since day 1. It was like a family, me and them and Angel all together watching out for each other. And now...what the hell do I do now? He's just gone and I can't do anything." Dani unconsciously began to well up as Miles bemoaned the loss of his friend. "It's helplessness. That aching in your chest that if you had just done something different that they would still be here. You know their gone but at the same time you think that if you open their door they'll somehow be right there, waiting for you like always."

Miles stared at the girl for a moment, entranced by the description. "Who hurt you?" The son of Zeus managed. "A lot of people. Almost everyone I've ever met has hurt in some way. I must have some really shitty luck for that to happen. The only thing I could ever count on was myself. No one else was there for me, not my parents, not the friends I didn't have, just me. I had one bright spot in my life, and fate decided I couldn't even have that. I'm all alone Miles. At least you still have people to count on." Miles said nothing at this. He had been perfectly content wallowing in his own suffering and now he felt like an asshole. Nobody told him there was a competition for who had the suckiest life! "Well at least your dad seems to care, even if he is 14 years late. Mine seems perfectly happy ignoring me." The girl didn't respond, running her hand along the hem of her Kershaw jersey. Miles had a point. "Look. Let's just finish the job and then everyone can go be sad and alone in their own preferred way." Dani managed, not making eye contact. "Easy for you to say. You didn't just watch your best friend explode." Miles sulked, and the girl somehow managed to choke out a bitter, spite filled laugh. "No, but I walked in on my kid sister hanging when she was only 12. That fucked me up real good." Dani croaked. And suddenly she could feel the startled look of grief that everyone gave her when she brought up Hannah's suicide. Everyone expects the shitty parents and life of crime, but no ones ever ready for the dead little sister. Hell she wasn't ready for it and it happened to her!

"You're serious?" Miles managed. "Yeah. Yeah I am." The girl sighed, unconsciously touching something the son of Zeus had never noticed, a thin silver chain with a crescent moon charm. "Was that hers?" Dani nodded, pulling her hand away. "The morning before she...she gave me this. It was her favorite necklace, she never went anywhere without it. And she looked at me and said 'The moon was so pretty last night Dani. I'm so happy I got to see it. You'll like it too with this.' That was the last thing she said to me. A few hours later I went to her room with a ring to trade her and I found her. I was just a few feet away and the only good thing in my whole life died, alone, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it." Miles tried to muster something, anything to make it better. But something his mom had said struck him: "Sometimes words just can't fix your problems." So for once, he didn't say anything. Just listened.

"When she finally got back from everything, the school and the hospitals and the police, she just wasn't the girl who left us. She felt vulnerable everywhere, she couldn't leave the house without losing it. She started wetting herself because she was terrified that if she went into the bathroom he would be there. She wouldn't take off her pants for weeks because she thought he would sneak up behind her and play grab ass. Imagine how fucked up you have to be to grope a little girl and get off to it." Unfortunately, that was something Miles knew a little about. "I know _exactly_ how fucked up you have to be." "I finally talked her into talking to someone about what happened. At first she just wouldn't say anything but after a while I thought she was really doing better. I was wrong. And she died before I even got the chance to tell her I loved her."

And that was the end of it. Time passed as the two sat in silence, dark times hovering over them. They drove on only because someone needed them, a little girl who couldn't save herself. It was the only thing that kept them in the car, and to the best of their knowledge it was something between them. And of course, the third party who had woken up at the beginning and listened in. Suddenly poor Roxie knew a lot of things she very much wished she didn't know at her young age, or any age. She felt like puking, sick of the darkness that permeated her life and the lives of her friends. But there wasn't time for puking or stopping. Dani drove as long as she possibly could, with no one to pass the time with after Miles drifted off. Just her and the dark thoughts that now clouded her mind. One thing was for sure, if she did sleep it would be infested with nightmares and would suck on a new level. But as the car crossed into the drive of an old Nebraska gas station, the dreams didn't wait for sleep. Dani slipped out of the car, turned to the pump and found herself eye to eye with the ghost of her little sister. "H...Hannah?" The girl a managed to choke out, the pump slipping from her hand. The flickering shade of the little girl smiled back at her sister. "Hi Dani. Sorry it took so long to get back." The daughter of Poseidon rubbed her eyes, convinced that she was hallucinating. But the vision stubbornly resisted he idea that it wasn't happening, because Hannah remained in front of her.

"H-how...how can you be here?" The girl asked, unable to process what she was seeing. "I heard you were sad so I came to find you. You needed me." Hannah said, her shimmering form flickering in the rising sun. Dani teared up, the words squirming into her mind. "You needed me too. I wasn't there for you." The daughter of the sea professed, tears trickling down her face. "You need to stop blaming yourself. There was nothing you could do." Hannah pleaded, but the girl wouldn't hear it. "STOP IT. I'm sick of everyone telling me there was nothing I could do. I should've stopped that monster, I should've never let mom send you away, I should've known-" Dani screamed, but suddenly she couldn't. She couldn't because the spirit of the little girl she once loved was in tears, heartbroken that she had come all this way only to find anger and sorrow. "You don't understand. There's so much darkness Dani. So much evil around you. When the evil comes out...it hurts more than you realize. You need light Dani. Let me be your light." The girl was shaking now, scared of the prophetic tone her sister had used. "How? How can there be light when you're gone?" Hannah smiled sadly. "There's light all around you sis. You just need to let it in. Please...let me in. I miss you." Overcome with sadness, Dani embraced the ghost and found it was a solid presence, full of hope and joy just like Hannah used to be. The little girl rippled before she began to glow and started to enter the moon charm. "I'm right here Dani. No matter what, I'm always here." Hannah whispered as she faded away, the charm now glowing with the soft hue of her spirit.


	19. Let the Past Stay in the Past

It was all Dani could do to keep from totally and utterly falling apart. Her encounter with spirit of her sister had left her an emotional wreck, unfit to to do anything but curl up into a ball and cry for days. She wanted nothing to do with the quest, or her fate, or anything anymore! Dani would be quite content to lay down and scream and cry until she died, and that would be the story they would write about her. Daniella Manzetti didn't get a heroic epic written about how she saved the world, instead all her obituary would say is "Her death was as sad as her life. The end." Unfortunately for her, Dani literally had no choice but to go on. Not because she cared about the implications her actions had on humanity or to save the world, which she would be quite happy to watch burst into flames. No, Dani kept driving because it was a chance to finally do something right in her miserable life. Maybe it would keep her out of the Fields of Punishment, but at this point she couldn't care less.

The heroes drove on and one through why seemed like endless stretches of road, stopping periodically to kill some scaly soldiers or ask a wheat demon for directions, which he provided by trying to kill Lucas. On and on they drove, powered by nothing but energy drinks and the fact that if they stopped for even a second someone would inevitably die of sadness and the other 3 would be screwed. For 2 days it was all they did. They switched on and off, no one slept, and they just...kept...driving. It was at the brink of total insanity that they finally, mercifully reached Las Vegas at 2 in the morning with the mighty heroes ready to die of exhaustion. "Hey, when we finally get done with this stupid quest, can we promise to never do it again." Lucas pleaded as the others nodded in agreement. "We need sleep. We're no good to anyone like this." Miles murmured, but Dani shook her head. "We only have 2 more days before the weeks up and that stupid snake eats Artemis. We don't have time to sleep!" The girl said, even though she was as ready to pass out as her friends.

"We have time. As long as we wake up tomorrow, we can save Hailey and catch the next flight to...where are we going again?" Roxie whined as she toppled back into the backseat of the phantom. "Horseman said we were looking for the Bay. Soooo...Oakland." Miles declared as they arrived in an alley. "I'll set up our little guard robots, let's just sleep until we wake up." Roxie pleaded, and the others finally agreed. As the others slipped off into a well deserved rest, Miles was interrupted by the last thing he wanted to be concerned about: the reason he was in Vegas in first place. "HEY! WAKE UP MISTER!" A voice exclaimed as Miles was startled back into reality. "What the-who was that?" Miles mumbled, finding his friends dead asleep and no one else around. "I'm the girl your here to save! Your almost here, I need you now!" The voice pleaded, and Miles realized it was in his head. "Can't it wait just a little?" The son of Zeus tried, but the young captive was adamant. "NO. I'm only a few doors down, I promise I won't take long." She whined, and finally Miles relented. "Fine. I'm coming." He groaned as he slid out of the car and wandered down the street to a wall with no door. "This is it! Just come in, hurry!" The voice demanded, and Miles begrudgingly reached out and was hardly shocked to find a secret door that swung open as soon as he touched it. "What a surprise, another stupid secret passageway with another useless bad guy at the end." Miles spat as he wandered down the stairs do the meat locker door that had appeared in Dani's dream. "Open it!" The disembodied voice commanded. "Sounds good." Miles agreed, putting his hand against the thick steel door and blasting it off its hinges. A wave of cold washed over him as the athlete stepped in to find the sought after little girl Aphrodite had been so desperate to get back. Exactly as Dani had described, the blonde haired 10 year old sat on the floor of the freezer, held by a thick metal chain around her neck. She wore nothing but a pink t shirt and purple Twilight Sparkle underwear. The underwear were stained, and just looking at it gave Miles bad flashback to catching his principal with Kiera on his lap. Tossed in a corner were a pair of pink volleyball shorts with the insignia of a Viking on it, Shorthills Elementary in bold text under the mascot. If Miles had to guess, she had been taken while she was asleep. After a moment, the girl finally woke up, her blue eyes suddenly filled with hope as she recognized not her kidnapper, but the hero Aphrodite had assured her would rescue her. "It's you! You came, your finally here!" She exclaimed, fighting against her restraints as Miles couldn't help but smile. As fucked as the situation was, the kid was adorable. "Yeah that's me. I'm Miles. What's your name?" He asked as he crouched down to meet her eyes. "I'm Hailey! My mommy told me you would come and rescue me, and now you're here!" The little demigod said happily. "Well your mom was right." Miles agreed as Hailey looked around. "Where are your friends mister? The small one and the loud one and the one I met first!" She asked. "Oh their just very sleepy right now. It's fine, you can meet them later. Now how about we leave?" Hailey beamed as a small blast of air snapped her collar and she stood up for the first time in weeks. But as she managed to get to her feet, Haileys eyes suddenly went wide with fear. "Behind you!" She cried, and Miles turned to find Meidion; or at least what was left of him.

In the story the goddess had told, Miles had envisioned Haileys kidnapper as a relatively good looking guy. Nothing spectacular, but a guy who looked sort of trustworthy and at least passable. What he did not expect was the shredded visage of a very old man covered in constantly bleeding cuts peering out at him from a trench coat and a dark hat. "Who are you?! Get away from my prize!" Meidion exclaimed, his voice weak and raspy. "Oh god dude, what the hell are you?!" Miles exclaimed after getting a good look at him. "I am the smiling devil! I am the terror of Athens!" Meidion declared. "You are a very scary Halloween decoration that came to life." The athlete replied, to startled to be concerned about the bronze sword the old creep brandished. "Silence! For millennia I have suffered in the fields of punishment, waiting for my chance to exact my revenge on the gods who abused me! And now I have captured the prized daughter of Aphrodite, and tonight I shall finish what I began and spill her blood on the streets of Athens and regain my strength!" Meidion yelled, and it was at this point Miles realized the old man had no idea what time period it was or where he was. "Wait, the first thing you did was kidnapping Hailey? And you've been down here since you did?" Miles asked, and Meidion nodded. "...Where do you think we are?" The son of Zeus asked. "Huh?" Meidion replied. "What's the name of this city?" Miles asked again. "We're in Athens Of course! Where else would Python have delivered me from my suffering?" Meidion said. "Las Vegas."

The old man looked at Miles in bewilderment. "Las what?" He asked. "Las VEGAS. You aren't even in Greece man! Python lied to you." Meidion liked at Miles for a moment, then shook his head. "Lies, all lies! Python would never deceive me, you are just another abusive servant of the fools on Olympus!" Meidion screamed as he swung his sword. Miles simply side stepped and stabbed the old man in the chest. "Well this has been fun." The athlete snickered as Meidion fell to to the ground. Just as suddenly, his body began to inflate as Lucas, Roxie, and Dani all made their way down the stairs after hearing the commotion. "What's going on?" The son of Hermes asked as the corpse reached its full inflation. "I don't-" was all Miles could say as suddenly, a wave of darkness exploded out of the body and instantly filled the room. Sight and sound were blocked as the 4 heroes and their young companion were swallowed into the shadows of the evil that lived in Meidion. They were shapeless and silent, filling every crevice and consuming the heroes as evil spread to their very cores. No light could be seen, and every bit that tried was swallowed up. Except for one source of light: a small moon floating in the sea of shadows like a life preserver. The glow of the pendant grew stronger, until it took the shape of Hannah who dragged her older sister out of the swamp of evil. "AGH! WHAT IS THAT?!" Dani screamed, fearfully staring around her at what used to be a room. "This is what I meant Dani! There was so much evil in Meidion that when Miles killed him, it all just exploded out of him! Evil is all consuming, it's pure darkness. If you even consider letting it in, it'll take hold and fester inside you until you become Meidion or Rodgers or whatever your friends are seeing right now!" Hannah yelled as Dani suddenly understood. "How do we help them?!" The older girl asked, still terrified from her swim in the evil. "They all have light inside them, we just have to find it!" Hannah said, reaching out and taking her sisters hand. Suddenly her aura intensified and throughout the inky darkness 4 specks of light emerged. "That's them!" Dani yelled as each speck began to grow, forcing the shadows away from their victims and to manifest into shapes like the light did. The brighter the light, the weaker the darkness until the room was visible again and the others were freed. "Oh fuck what was that!" Miles exclaimed as he fell to the floor, before the flickering form of Andre dragged him up. "No time to fall over Hercules, you've got spirits to whack." The ghost said as across the room, Lucas stared in shock at the vision of a well dressed homeless man picking him up. "Joe...aren't you dead?" The hitman managed to ask. "Sure am junior, but when your in trouble I'm always there to bail you out. Just like the good old days!" Joe laughed, patting Lucas on the back.

"KYLIE?!" Roxie screamed, scampering back from the glowing spirit of the girl in front of her. She was only about 13, with her hair in a ponytail and dressed in an Elmwood Middle School softball jersey. "Didn't expect me Tiny?" The girl chuckled as she pulled Roxie up. "No, because the last time I saw you you were...were-" "Dead from cancer? Yeah that wasn't fun. But hey, just like back home. You're in trouble, I've got your back." Kylie smirked as Hailey rode around on Twilight Sparkle. "THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!" The little girl squealed, burying her face in the Alicorns mane. "The fun part isn't over yet." Twilight said as the last of the darkness took shape, forming the principal of Kiera's elementary school, Lucases mother, and the head bully from Roxie's middle school. "Holy shit..." Miles muttered, staring at the face of the man he had almost killed. "Well well Mr. Donavan. Didn't think you would get off so easily did you? You pretend like your sister didn't love it the entire time, make yourself out to be a hero for what, beating an innocent man within an inch of his life?" Principal Danvers sneered. "You got what you deserved you sick bastard!" Miles yelled. "Kiera was unruly, disruptive, she needed discipline!" Danvers exclaimed. "You MOLESTED HER for months! You ruined her childhood for your own sick pleasure, you freak!" "I WAS HELPING HER." The principal insisted, and Miles exploded. "SHUT UP!" The son of Zeus yelled, and before he could stop himself a massive bolt of lighting struck through the concrete roof of and vaporized the shadow, leaving nothing behind as the ghost of the principal was consumed in a flash of light. "Atta boy!" Andre laughed as Miles simply collapsed, prompting attention from Hailey.

"Holly...why did it have to be Holly?" Roxie whimpered as the blonde smirked. "Well if it isn't the trash nobody wanted. You think just because your a hero now makes you better? You still aren't even good enough for your real parents." Holly said, hardly even glancing over as Roxie suddenly felt like she was back in middle school, cornered by her bullies and forced to take the abuse. "Remember all those times we shoved your head in the toilet and made you run laps around the soccer field naked? Then there was that football game where we shoved you in a trash can for the entire game. So many good memories of you being humiliated!" Holly laughed as the youngest hero felt smaller and smaller. Then she felt it. Kylie laid a hand on her shoulder and spoke. "Remember what I told you Tiny. Holly can run her mouth all day long, but she's nothing when you remind her what happened." Roxie couldn't help but smile. "How does your mouth feel Holly?" The smaller girl said, and it stopped her bully. "I know it still hurts after Kylie broke your jaw. Of course, no one knows it was her. Everyone thinks it's because you sucked to many dicks and got lockjaw. That was my rumor by the way, my very first one! But let's go ahead and bring up what happened to you. I think you remember the day the softball team kicked you and your bitch friends asses pretty well. The broken arm, the bruised ribs, the contusions, but I heard most of the blood from when Ashley broke your nose got soaked up by the TP padding in your bra, so that's a plus! Then of course there's your ankle. Jess took one wrong step and snapped it like a twig, you couldn't walk for a month! Someone told me you'll never wear heels again. I hope it's true, you always loved high heels. Then there's the lazy eye from getting kicked in the head, that's my personal favorite. Rumor has it they can't fix it. I hope they can't, you just can't see out of it for the rest of your miserable life." Roxie said, recounting her tale as the shadow of Holly grew smaller.

"But it doesn't end there! After they finished kicking the shit out of you, the softball team stripped you down to your underwear and dragged you out to the field. I was waiting. I'll never forget the sight of you, half naked and hurt, begging for mercy no one gave you. I made you run laps in your panties until you couldn't anymore. Remember what happened next Holly? You fell flat on your face because you couldn't walk, so I sat on your back and rubbed your face in the infield until you cried like a little girl. And I remember you told me that only garbage babies like me cry in middle school. But there you were, crying for your mommy while I rubbed your face into that dirt until I couldn't feel my hands. By the time I got up your friends were on the ground. I would've been satisfied with just that. But then the clincher: I look down and you've gone and peed yourself right there in the dirt. That's how you got the nickname Puddles. I gave it you after I told everyone you wet yourself while you were gone. And just like that you went from people worshiping the ground you walked on to graduating middle school while wearing a diaper because you got kicked in the stomach so many times it made you incontinent! You'll be Puddles for the rest of your life, and when you die I will dance on your grave you miserable bitch!" Roxie cackled as Holly was reduced to the size of a bug, which the gamer took the opportunity to step on. "That felt...incredible." The girl smiled, hugging Kylie.

"Well then. Now that we've seen Sparky vaporize a pedophile and Pony Girl show us she's a fucking psycho, I think that just leaves me." Lucas said, staring back at the dark form of his mom. "I never should've had you. You know I wanted an abortion for your useless father wouldn't let me. Then he went and disappeared and left me with my stupid waste of a sperm cell son. How's the middle school education working out for you dumbass?" To everyone's surprise, Lucas laughed. "Yeah, I remember when that worked on me too mom. Thing is, the whole 'your a disappointment' act doesn't really work when the only thing you've done is pop pills and drink for the last 15 years. The majority of my childhood was spent scraping you off the living room floor when you passed out from to many Xanax and white wine nights. What's really sad is for while I thought it was NORMAL. Then I stayed at my friends house and turns out, normal mothers aren't supposed to blame their 7 year old for every single problem in their life! They also usually aren't unconscious by 5:30 and they don't show up to parent-teacher conferences WASTED. Then there was that one time you came in on career day, even though you've never had a job and you've been living off grandpas money for years. I thought you might tell my class about being a trophy wife but then I realized you can't do that right either! Dad abandoned you and you drive off every decent guy with all your fucking baggage. You've accomplished nothing, have no goals or achievements, you kicked your son out of the house at 11, and shit just spiraled down from there. Well I need for you mom, when this is over I'm going to see Grandpa, and I'm not lying anymore. I'm gonna tell him every nasty thing you've ever done, and when he finds out what you've been using his money for you'll be done for. I'll control the money, I'll get the house, and you'll be out on the street. And do you want to know why?" Lucas asked, practically foaming at the mouth as the shadow of his mother grew lighter and lighter. "Because you're NOTHING." He finished, and just like that the darkness was gone.

They 4 found themselves unburdened by their past, free from the shadows that had lurked deep in their minds. It was liberating. Finally it was Dani that spoke. "Well I think that's enough time here. Anyone else suddenly feel a lot better?" She asked, and the others agreed. "You're unburdened now. Darkness is a heavy thing to carry, and now that it's gone you'll have the energy to finish your quest." Hannah explained, embracing her older sister. "What about Hailey?" Miles said. "We'll see to it she gets back to her mom. And you 4 aren't done yet. Keys to get, fallen stars to find, all that fun stuff." Joe assured them. "Will we ever see you guys again?" Roxie asked. "Of course Tiny. We're always there for you. You just need to ask." Kylie said, putting her arm around the smaller girl. "Okay. So how do we get to Oakland?" Miles asked, and Andre smiled and raised his hands the way he would when he had a plan. "Leave that to us Hercules." With a snap, blinding light filled the room and the heroes were consumed in it. Just as quickly, the light faded and the four found themselves on a rooftop overlooking the Bay. Surrounding them was a small campsite, occupied from the looks of it but no one was to be found. "Well that's-" Lucas began, but paused when he suddenly found a knife against his throat. "Don't move." A voice said, though no one was around and only the knife was visible. "What the hell?!" Dani exclaimed, but the others quickly fell silent as a girl emerged from the tent, bow drawn and an arrow leveled at Miles heart. "Woah woah woah, everybody calm down!" The son of Zeus said, and the blonde girl in front of him did. "Were not looking for a fight, I promise. We're demigods on a quest to kill Python and we just need to get through here." The girl stared a hole into him, untrusting. "I swear on the River Styx we won't hurt you." The athlete took the extra leap, and a clap of thunder overhead made it so. Finally the blonde uneasily lowered her bow. "Let him go Amanda." Lucas managed to breathe again as the disembodied blade moved away from his jugular. A set of feet stepped around the heroes to stand next to the other girl, and suddenly as she moved her hood back another blonde girl appeared, this one shorter then her friend with hunting knives on her belt and her own bow slung over her back. "Just because he swore doesn't mean I trust him." Amanda said, sweeping her hair back behind her hood as she spoke. The smaller blonde wore a white hoodie with a fur lined hood, jeans and rainbow Air Force Ones, the A's cap perched on her head shading her emerald eyes from the sun. "Who said anything about trusting him?" The older girl smirked, blonde waves pulled back into a ponytail as her blue orbs sized up the bigger son of Zeus. She wore a Juventus jersey over white jeans and all white Nikes, a glittering chain hanging around her neck. Suddenly a line of prophecy came back to Dani. _Follow the light to the fallen stars_

"You two are hunters aren't you?" The girl asked, and Amanda promptly threw her hands up in exasperation and stomped away. "Uh...you good?" "Y'know, not every blonde girl with a bow who dresses in white is a hunter! Some of us are just...very closely related to Artemis." Amanda said, and the other girl just sighed. "Way to blow our cover idiot. Mom said no one was supposed to know until she claimed us." The older blonde said, not realizing her mistake until her sister pointed it out. "ASHLEY! You weren't supposed to say that! Now they know!" Amanda yelled in frustration. "Well shit." Ashley groaned as the 4 heroes looked on in shock. "Artemis...has KIDS?" Roxie said, expressing the disbelief of her friends. Finally the blondes sat down and gestured for the others to do the same. "Story time kids. You're in for a treat."


	20. Getting Around your Vow in 3 easy steps

The 4 heroes quickly formed a loose semicircle across to the blondes, eager to hear the tale. When everyone was comfortable, Ashley took the lead. "Alright, so you all know Artemis took the vow of celibacy right? She was supposed to completely abstain from men and sex of any kind, and anyone who joined her Hunters was supposed to do the same. Well for whatever reason, the Fates suddenly predicted that Artemis, without ever losing her virginity, would bear 2 daughters of her own while in the company of a man." Miles raised an eyebrow. "Like Immaculate Conception? How is that possible?" He asked, but was quickly hushed by Ashley. "Anyway, Zeus learns that Artemis is going to bear children without breaking her vow, and decides that instead of trying to prevent it he's just going to sit back and see what happens. Zeus decides that in order to watch over her, Athena is going to follow her as an owl and no one is allowed to interfere in the actions Artemis takes. So Athena leaves Olympus and follows the Hunters wherever they go, close enough to hear everything but far enough to avoid detection. This goes on for like 10 years, just Artemis wandering around hunting and Athena hanging out in the background. And while she's doing this, Athena learns that Artemis has been experimenting with her age. Mainly, she's been phasing into a grown woman and partying with a few of her hunters who recently joined and know the nightlife in the area. So one night Athena follows her out of camp, and Artemis meets this guy, who would later become our dad without ever touching her."

"So this guy, Alex, is trying to sweet talk her back to his place, and Athena is watching the whole time to see if she breaks her vow. Artemis finally agrees to go to his house, but when they get there she tells him she can't have sex with him because she swore she wouldn't. And normally, that sets guys off. But Alex tells her that's totally fine, it doesn't have to happen if she doesn't want it to, it's whatever." Ashley said. "Just like that? No pleading or arguing?" Dani asked. "Just like that." Amanda agreed. "So anyway, Artemis is stunned that a man would so readily agree to not pursue sex. So stunned, that they start seeing each other whenever she comes by his house here in Oakland. And whenever she does, he makes dinner and buys her things and they never have sex even though Artemis knows he wants to. But she needs to know just how loyal Alex is. So one night, she sneaks into his house and decides to take off her clothes and pretend to be asleep in her bed. Because according to the myths, every time a girl in Greece takes off all her clothes a guy finds her, attempted rape follows. So if he tries anything, she has an excuse to turn him into a deer and leave. So Artemis lays down and pretends to be asleep, and Alex walks in. And instead of trying to have sex with her, he just puts a blanket on top and leaves. No hesitation, he's not going near her. And she's amazed by this, so amazed that she gets dressed and runs down the stairs and demands to know why he didn't try anything. And he just looks at her and says "Because you said you didn't want me to." And she's so moved that she's finally found a man who understands her vows that she hugs him, which is the first time Artemis has touched a man she wasn't related to in centuries. And then suddenly they've got a kid." She said.

"How is that possible?! She hugged him and then a kid popped out?" Roxie demanded. "It's like how Athena has kids from thoughts. Artemis has kids from love." Ashley explained. "And your not twins? So this happened TWICE?" Lucas prodded. "Yeah. So the first time she got me, and the first thing Artemis did was freak out. Because now this guy just saw a child pop out of her chest in like 10 seconds, instead of waiting 9 months and doing it the mortal way. And now Alex realizes that this is not a girl who lives in Oregon, and he asks her what exactly she is. So because she has no choice outside of killing him, Artemis decides to just explain it all to him. And after a few tries he suddenly understands he has a kid with a goddess who swore she'd never do what is required to have kids. So the decides that because he doesn't know anything about kids and she can't raise one in public because Zeus might get mad, they'll drop her kid in the Hunters and wait until they can explain it another way...then they had the second one." Ashley groaned, and her younger sister took a bow. "They call me the one they had on purpose, and I'll be telling my story if it pleases the long winded narrator?" Amanda snickered, earning an eye roll from the older blonde. "Thank you. Okay, so Ashely ends up in the Hunters and for a while the problem goes away. She has no idea Artemis is her mom and neither do the Hunters. They leave Oakland and don't come back so no one puts the pieces together and Ashley just becomes another hunter, until they realize she's...different. One morning they wake up and the 2 year old they left is now 15 and can't miss. They realize that somehow, Ashley has the ability to never miss a shot with her bow, never runs out of arrows, and can change her age at will. It's then that Artemis realizes she passed down abilities to her daughter and the Hunters are going to start getting suspicious. So she decides to go back to Oakland and drop Ashley with her dad, so no one wonders where she got the powers. But instead of doing that, Alex tells her that they should have another kid, so that the Hunters will think Oakland just has a surplus of girls with powers. She agrees, they hug, and then I show up. And then they find out that the more kids Artemis has, the more...interesting their powers get." Amanda explained.

"I showed up the age I am right now, which is 12. I didn't get lucky enough to be able to shift my age, but I can see LA from here, I'm stealthy and good with knives, oh and I can do this." The blonde said, suddenly changing from a girl to a snake to a deer to a polar bear and back. "That's what makes me a good tracker." Amanda smirked. "Hey wait, he can do that too." Dani said, and Lucas shifted into a hawk. "A son of Hermes shapeshifter? I don't think we've ever seen one of those." Ashely admitted, and the gunslinger took a bow. "Then consider me the first." "Alright, so anyway Artemis really wants to bring us both with her, but she's scared that the Hunters will put it all together if she comes back with another demigod hunter from the same city. So she decides to leave Ashley with our dad and bring me to learn with the Hunters. She comes up with some story about how Ashley is just taking a hiatus or something and for about a year we wander around hunting monsters and just having a good time. And then when the year is up, we swing back to Oakland and pick up Ash, and Artemis promotes her to lieutenant for waiting the year. And because children of Artemis are born with all the knowledge we could ever need, we get to spend all year hunting with her instead of going to school, and it's awesome!" Amanda declared, beaming with pride. "So how did you get kicked out? Because you said you aren't hunters anymore." Lucas asked, and suddenly he didn't want to know. Almost immediately both girls faces changed. Amanda's became a mask of shame, while Ashley's was pure annoyance and frustration. "I don't really-" The younger girl began. "Oh don't be so modest Amanda, tell them how you screwed us and got us kicked out." Ashley insisted. "You really don't have to!" Lucas pleaded. "Yes she does. She HAS to." The older girl commanded, and Amanda finally caved in.

"Okay okay! So, the Hunters were camped out in the woods somewhere around here, and I was guarding one night. And...this kid I knew from wandering the city happened to show up." The younger girl began. " _Kid?"_ Ashley prodded. "...Guy. This guy I knew." The little sister muttered. "And just how did you know him?" Ashley insisted. "I had been sneaking out of camp to go see the city, and one night I ran into him in some skate park in our dads neighborhood." Amanda said. "Just making sure I still remember. Go on." The younger blonde rolled her eyes and continued. "So anyway, he said he knew of this really pretty place in the woods, and that it was just a couple minutes away, and that I should come see it with him. And I thought...how long could a few minutes be?" Amanda shrugged, and her sister laughed bitterly. "She abandoned her post for 15 minutes to run off with some guy, which would be bad enough if what happened next hadn't happened." Ashley said, glaring at her sister. "The reason we were camped out is because a pack of lycanthropes was supposed to be coming through there. And while I was gone...they showed up on the side I was supposed to be watching. It was a surprise." Amanda sighed. "Wouldn't have been if you had done your job." Ashley growled. "I came back to the aftermath. A couple hunters got bitten, no one DIED, and I was in the middle of fixing the problem when...he followed me back. And in the Hunters, if they find you with a guy they get to ask one question: were you in his company? And if you were a part of any romantic interaction, it's grounds for immediate dismissal." And then everyone stared at the younger girl, waiting for what they knew was coming.

"I kissed him. I gave him one lousy peck because he had been so nice even though I was constantly doing things he didn't understand so I thought he had earned it. And even though we were just friends, they decided it was romantic enough to dismiss me! Just like that!" Amanda yelled, putting her hands in her face out of pure frustration. "So what about you?" Lucas asked the older girl. "Oh I didn't do anything. But mom wanted someone to watch out for Amanda so I went with her. And look what happened without us!" Ashley said smugly, gesturing off into the bay where Artemis and Delphi were held. "So you're trying to use this to get back into the Hunters?" Miles asked. "Oh gods no, we got to keep the immortality and all our stuff, so once we get our mom back we're gonna look for a place to hang out since there's no point in going back. They'd never let Amanda in again anyway, once your dismissed there's no way back. You guys know any good places for demigods?" "Actually we came from one. It's a camp in Long Island where all the Greek demigods go and train until their 18, unless their counselors and then they get stay as long as they want. Which in your case would be forever." Lucas explained. "Huh. That sounds perfect." "Okay last question. If you guys are already here, why haven't you gone and saved your mom already?" Miles asked. "Logistics. Their on this little island a 100 yards into the bay. We don't have a boat and we can't exactly move the ocean." Amanda explained, and Lucas looked the daughter of Poseidon. "What about that princess? Think you can move the ocean enough to get us to our Goddess in distress?" But as Dani thought for a moment, she felt something. Almost like a ripple. Someone like her was coming. The girl peered over the roof and spotted a small, dented Prius that was giving her the feeling. Suddenly she remembered what her dad said. " _When you get to California, look for my son Percy and his wife. They can help you!"_ "Maybe not me. But I think I know someone who can."


	21. It Lives in the Woods

Dani's first encounter with her legendary half-brother didn't exactly start according to plan. The daughter of the sea led the little band of misfits across the street to the parking lot where the Prius was waiting, sneaking a glance through the window to spy who she could only assume was Percy Jackson and his wife. A thick aura of power radiated from the little car, and finally Dani swallowed the lump in her throat and knocked on the window. Percy glanced out the window once, then again to confirm he wasn't seeing things. He then furiously tapped on the blondes shoulder, who was frozen like a deer in headlights as the rest of the heroes came in from behind the car. Finally after a moment, the legendary hero rolled down his window and managed to speak. "Annabeth...you see the questing squad of misfits too right?" Percy asked, and his wife nodded. "Percy, right?" Dani asked, and the man nodded as she extended her hand. "I'm Daniella. I'm one of your half-sisters." Percy suddenly softened again and shook her hand. "So your one of dads new world-savers? You all seem very good for that job, don't you. 4 demigods, 2 hunters off to save the world." He laughed, and Amanda raised an eyebrow. "Actually, were not hunters. Just demigods." The blonde explained, and the realization shone on Percy's face. "So that's why your trying to save Artemis. Can't let mom get swallowed by a snake now can we?"

The blondes agreed, and Dani interjected. "So Percy, I'm hoping we can get a little help. Artemis and Delphi are all the way across the bay, and I can't move 6 people that far by myself." The daughter of Poseidon said. "Yeah that does seem like a pretty far swim. But I'm not really sure if I can help you kid. We've been out of the whole demigod game for a while, y'know?" Percy said. "I don't think that's what their asking Seaweed Brain." Annabeth said, nudging her husband with her elbow. "She's right. It's not a ride. We're looking for more of...a path?" Dani tried, and Percy couldn't help but laugh. "Are you serious? You ever split something as big as the bay?" The son of Poseidon asked, and Dani admitted she had not. "It's not like I can just wave my hand and Moses the problem away. It requires a lot of concentration and effort that I can't do with just me." "No but it's not just you! I can help you!" Dani insisted, and Percy thought for a moment. "I guess that would work. As long as you can make the swim across after we're done. You can't walk to the island and split the bay at the same time unless you want to pass out and drown your friends." "Thats not at all what I want." Dani said, and Percy smiled. "Perfect! Then let's get biblical!"

In a perfect world, Percy would have given Dani a week long crash course in all the things her powers could do, but demigods don't live in a perfect world so they got straight to the point. "Alright, you're gonna have about 5 minutes to make it to the island when we split the bay. So the second you see dirt, jump down and RUN." Percy instructed as he and Dani took their positions, allowing the others to prepare themselves. Lucas switched to his super speed shoes, Ashley and Amanda playfully jostled for a better starting spot, and Miles slung Roxie over his back because her legs were to short to make it. "You sure you can do it on your own tiny? I can carry both of you." Miles snickered as Amanda rolled her eyes and smirked. "Don't worry about me Bigfoot, I've dusted mountain lions a lot faster than you." The blonde said. "Alright lets do this quick and hope we don't piss off the water spirits." Percy said. And before Dani could ask what he meant, her half-brother began to split his half of the bay so she got to work. The two children of Poseidon glowed with a powerful green aura, strength radiating off them as slowly but surely the massive body of water began to separate, revealing the thin strip of land leading to the island where Artemis was held. The demigods stood in awe for a moment, only to be awakened by Dani. "What're you deaf? FUCKING RUN." The thief yelled, sending her friends leaping off the dock and sprinting across the narrow bridge the two had formed. "So what's the plan when you get there?" Percy asked, his voice straining from the effort. "We don't really have one? I think we're just improvising." Dani admitted, and the elder hero laughed. "Yeah that was my strategy a lot. Wise One was in charge of all the planning." Percy laughed and Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Would've worked better if you could follow a plan Seaweed Brain." The blonde teased. "Love you too sweetie."

After 5 minutes of exertion, the rest of the demigods managed to claw their way on to the island where Artemis and Delphi were held. The separated ocean quickly crashed down behind them as the siblings of the sea god let it return to its usual position. The crew collectively flopped down as they watched Dani lean back on the hood of her half-brothers car and try not to pass out. "We're all here right? Nobodies hanging out on the bottom of the bay?" Lucas asked, and a quick check affirmed that everyone had made it. Miles smirked as he watched the younger hunter knock the sand out her shoes. "I totally beat you by the way." He sighed as Amanda rolled her eyes. "Sure you did hotshot." The younger blonde giggled, flicking a stray piece of seaweed off her sneakers as the others watched Dani hug her half-brother and take a swan dive into the bay. After a moment Lucas stood up and stretched. "Alright, while we wait for the mermaid to pop up I'm gonna go do a little scouting. Wanna help Tiny?" The thief asked, hauling Amanda to her feet. "Might as well. Don't start the fun without us." The shapeshifter said as she morphed into a mountain lion with Lucas favoring an eagle. "That goes you two boneheads. The most important part of a surprise attack is the first part." Ashley said as her anthropomorphic sister gave the best "get off my back I know" look Miles had ever seen a mountain lion give. "Don't look at me like that!" The older blonde groaned as the shapeshifters took off just in time for Dani to arrive sporting a new addition to her sisters necklace. "Look at me late to everything." The blonde chuckled, pushing her hair back as she strode ashore. "Uh what's with the charm?" Miles asked, gesturing to the small emerald trident now hanging next to the moon pendant. "Oh it was weird. Percy gave it to me. He said that it could help me solve the problem and that when it happened I would be a total badass. Didn't explain what it did but maybe it's one of those _it's the thought that counts_ kinda things." She shrugged. "Oh yeah I'm sure thoughts and prayers will do us a lot of good killing a thousand foot long talking snake." Ashley snickered. "Well I thought it was nice." Daniella insisted. "So what exactly is our plan to kill this thing?" Roxie asked as she stood up and joined her friends. "Well of our friendly sea splitter had come along I'd say we just drop the ocean on him but that doesn't seem smart with just Dani." Miles said as the others agreed. As they discussed the best way to rescue Artemis and Delphi, Dani couldn't help but feel like something was watching. She turned to find Misty peering at her from the surf. "Hey you. Where have you been?" The blonde said as the water spirit rose out of the waves. "You've been traveling across lots of landlocked places. It's hard to be a water spirit where there isn't any water." Misty said dismissively as if the physics of the summonabilty Of water spirits should be obvious. "So what are you doing here now?" Dani asked. "Helping. Your friend has the right idea about dropping the ocean on Python." Misty assured her. "Yeah maybe with Percy still here. I couldn't split it on my own and I can't do it now." The thief bemoaned as Misty rolled her eyes. "Well not on your own. But with the Jewel of the Sea wont even break a sweat." The water spirit said, only to realize Dani was oblivious. "Your necklace. When Lord Poseidon said Prince Percy could offer help he didn't just mean getting you here." The blonde raised an eyebrow, rightfully skeptical. "Try it." The water spirit prodded, stepping to one side and gesturing at the bay. "Alright." Dani said, lifting her hand and concentrating. The small trident glowed with energy, and the bay split effortlessly. The demigods were awestruck as Dani shaped and manipulated the sea without breaking a sweat, creating a ferocious spiral of water that left a crater in the bay when it touched down that seemed to go on forever. Even when she let the bay settle back Dani could feel a bone chilling cold wash over the island from the hole. "What is that?" The blonde asked as Misty stepped away from the crater. "A pathway to Tartarus. If you lure Python into that hole he'll be dragged straight into the depths. No one can escape from Tartarus unless an Olympian releases them. And no one is planning on letting that overgrown worm out." Misty snickered. "Wait how did he get out if no one can escape without a god?" Dani asked as the water spirit paused. "Uh...I'm not sure." The sea angel admitted as the cold continued to leak out of the crater. "Well then. I guess as long as he goes back it doesn't matter." The blonde shrugged, turning to her friends. "Alright here's the plan-" Dani began, only to be interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream from the woods. The heroes whipped around as Ashley froze in fear. "Amanda?" The blonde whimpered as suddenly footsteps came pounding towards them. "GUYYYYYYYSSSSS!" Lucas yelled as he came scrambling out of the woods cradling the younger hunter in his arms until they spilled onto the beach. The heroes rushed to their friends, Lucas missing a shoe and sporting shred marks across his shirt and Amanda curled into a ball sobbing. "AMANDA!" Ashley cries as she bear hugged her terrified sister, rocking her gently as Miles dragged the assassin to his feet. "What the hell happened?!" The athlete demanded as Lucas caught his breath, sheer terror in his eyes. "It was the scariest thing I've ever seen. Their just hanging there and their screaming and they change and it looked like my mom and my grandpa and Joe and Angel and Hailey and you guys!" Lucas yelled without any context. "What did?" Dani asked. "They fucking grabbed me and they stole my shoe and they grabbed Amanda and they just kept screaming and yelling at her!" "Who did?!" Roxie pleaded as Amanda finally spoke. "I-It's not my fault! It's not my fault! I promise it's not my fault!" The younger blonde managed through her tears as her sister held her close. "That's all they kept saying. 'It's your fault, all your fault'" Lucas explained. "WHO?" The demigods exclaimed at one, prompting Lucas to point a shaky finger into the forest. "Bodies. Dozens of them. Hanging from the trees. Screaming. Changing. We can't go in there again."


	22. The Fading Star

The heroes stared off into the woods, no one speaking but all sharing the same thoughts. They had to process just the image of what Lucas was describing, the sheer fear it bred in the ranks of the demigods. This was not helped when compounded with the continued hysterics of Amanda, who still couldn't articulate what had happened beyond what the thief had told them. "So let's just make sure we're all on the same page here. In those woods, not far from here, there are a hundred dead bodies, hanging from nooses, with changing faces that scream at you and try to kill you. That's where we are now?" Miles said, trying and failing not to sound like a crazy person. "That's where we are right now." Lucas agreed, having backed as far from the forest as he could get and refusing to take his eyes off it. "How is that even possible?" Roxie whines as she looked deep into the woods, her age starting to show as she nudged her way behind Miles. "Their called Skotadi. Spirits of darkness, they take the shapes of tortured bodies and do their best to drive you crazy so they can kill you. Best guess, Python and whoever got him out of Tartarus wants us dead and enlisted the Skotadi." The others were startled as Ashley finally piped up, having turned all her attention to her terrified baby sister. "Alright Monster Hunter, how do you kill them then? Because I tried and bullets don't seem to bother them." Lucas admitted as the older blonde continued to keep her back to the woods. "They feed on the fear they create. If your not afraid, their powerless. And the best cure for fear is hatred. Lucky for us, we all seem to have that in spades. So who's got the most?" Ashley managed as the 4 looked among themselves. After a moment, all eyes fell on Dani. "Wait what?! Why me!" The daughter of the sea exclaimed. "You're the only one who didn't exorcise their demons in Vegas. It's gotta be you." Miles explained. "And we've all seen it Princess. Whatever your holding on to, it is a nasty, venomous beast that is nothing but hate. And we need that." Lucas assured her as the older girl sighed. "Fine. I guess I'll save the day again." The blonde relented as she drew her sword. "Your not going without me." Ashley said as she stood, her sister now curled up sitting on the beach. "Really? You sure?" Dani asked as the younger girl fit an arrow into her bow. "Those things tried to take all I've got left. It's my pleasure to settle the score." Ashley assured the demigod who could only shrug. "By all means then." Dani said. "Thanks. Muscles, keep an eye on Amanda. She likes you best." The hunter commanded as the two girls wandered off. "Oh what a title. Miles, son of Zeus, slayer of men, watcher of kids." Lucas snickered as the athlete barely suppressed the urge to knock him out. "So you know a lot about monsters and this world?" Daniella asked as they trekked deeper into the forest, following Lucases improvised escape trail. "Yeah. My mom used to tell me stories about all the different gods and monsters when I was a kid." Ashley agreed. "Neat. What's it like having a mom who doesn't hate your very existence?" Dani said. "Oh sure my moms great. When she isn't banishing my sister for having a crush and getting kidnapped she's just your average Olympian soccer mom, delivering orange slices on a stag and smiting the referee." Ashley snarked as the older girl laughed. "Where did that come from?!" Daniella managed. "My point is most Olympian's aren't very good parents. Just because my mom was more involved then your dad doesn't make her mother of the century." The younger blonde spat. "Yeah but at least she likes you!" Dani tried, and Ashley couldn't help but laugh. "Does she? Most parents don't show love by banishing their only daughters and leaving them to starve over puppy love. And yet we're supposed to show up and save her when all her precious hunters can't get the job done! The least she could have done was admit she had kids! But no, we're just two well dressed street kids to her. Replaceable." The former hunter growled as Dani suddenly noticed something. "Ash...look." The blonde whimpered, slowly pointing at the body dangling above them. It was just as Lucas described, this one dressed as a boy no older then 10 with a rope around his neck and a misshapen face. "Before either girl could speak, the face suddenly changed until it took the shape of a silver haired girl no older then 12. Dani didn't recognize her, but Ashley just scowled. "Hey mom." The blonde glowered as the hanging form of the girl hissed at her. "Nice to know what you finally think of me Ashley! I always knew you were a failure, it's your fault for letting your sister be weak!" The face screamed, flailing and grunting as the younger girl simply lifted her bow and planted an arrow right between the eyes of the corpse. The face of Artemis shrieked in pain before dissolving into shadow, gone. "Nice." Dani managed as more screams filled the air. Up ahead bodies began to turn and writhe in their nooses to face the girls, taking on various forms. The daughter of the sea spotted Miles, Lucas, Roxie, her mom and dad, Amanda, Misty, Percy and Annabeth, but plenty she couldn't place. All of them screamed the worst things they could, calling her a failure and a weak little girl. "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE HER!" The corpses screamed, writhing and stretching with all their might. "IT'S YOUR FAULT HAILEYS DEAD! ITS ALL YOUR FAULT!" And all Dani could so was smile, a single tear running down her cheek. "How are you handling this so well?" Ashley asked as she started shooting again. "They think this is the worst they can say, that this can drive me crazy. What they don't know is I already spent years blaming myself. You can't break what's already broken." Dani laughed as she jumped into the fight, her sword moving through the Skotadi like they weren't even there. More fell from the trees only to be swiftly cut down, ended by two girls driven by hatred tinged with madness. By the time it was over, it was fair to wonder if the girls had really gone crazy in the woods. But before either could question it, they heard something deeper into the woods. A voice, hard as steel but deep like a rumble of thunder in the dead of night. The pair of blondes quietly advanced as best they could, finally settling on a small outcropping of rocks overlooking the source of the voice.

Underneath them was the massive form of Python, the monstrous snake as thick as a subway train and longer then all the bridges in the city combined was foiled tightly in the open area beneath them. His eyes glimmered with intelligence and boredom as he lay wound tightly, listening to his companion. The speaker gave Dani the urge to run without even making eye contact. The vaguely humanoid man stood at just under 8 feet tall, both his armor and skin so dark it almost seemed to consume the light around it. When he moved he left a thick fog of darkness behind him, and the only time she had the gall to look at his face Dani saw lines etched deep into his skin and cruel purple eyes staring back at her. She wasn't sure who or what that was, but she had no intention of making friends with it. Risking another glance, Dani finally found what they had come all this way for. Trapped in the center of Pythons crushing embrace was Artemis, looking no worse for the wear having spent a week trapped on the island, and imprisoned next to her was a young girl dressed vaguely like a hippy with eyes like emeralds. Dani could only assume that was the great Delphi everyone wanted rescued. She didn't look like much but the blonde knew better then to assume. The girls found themselves just in time to catch the shadowy figures evil monologue, a staple of any good evil plan.

"-The seer tells me that a group of children is foretold to stop me from killing the light in this wretched world. They have only slowed me, they've hardly stopped anything." The figure said, his hand resting on the pommel of a massive sword sheathed on his side. "Of course Lord Erebus. They can't hope to save the Daughter of Light long enough to realize her true power." Came the raspy roar of Python, stabbing into Dani's mind like I knife. "If all goes to plan the girl will never make it back to their sanctuary. As long as we remove the northern forces before Zeus's excuse for an heir can return and rally them, the Daughter of Light is mine for the taking. Of course, it all relies on ending this little loose end." The figure chuckled, extending one of his bony fingers and tracing the face of the moon goddess, who was a second away from biting it off. "You'll never get away with this Erebus! The demigods will kill this overgrown worm and you will stand trial for your crimes!" Artemis declared, only to grimace as Pythons body wrapped tighter around her. "Bold words from someone in your place Lady Artemis. Tell me, what sound do you think a goddesses ribs make when they crack Python?" Erebus mused as the snake made a sound that almost sounded like laughing. "Only one way to find out." He whispered, wrapping tighter and tighter around the writhing goddess and her prophetic companion. Dani winced as Artemis screamed, so loud she didn't notice Ashley rising until the arrow left her bow and planted itself in one of Pythons scales. "Ash no!" The blonde whispered as she dragged the younger hunter back down, but it was fat to late as a smirk spread across the face of Erebus. "The daughter of Artemis come to rescue her mother. A shame she'll die so young. Python kill them, I must attend to the other business." The god commanded as he suddenly drifted back into a vortex of shadows, narrowly avoiding an arrow of his own.

Throwing caution to the wind, Ashely bolted from their cover and ran, raining arrow after arrow to no avail. In terms of bad ideas, Dani had to admit it was a pretty lousy plan. As the daughter of the sea jumped out after her friend in time to nearly get decapitated by the massive snakes tail. "OOF!" She yelped as she face planted into the dirt, looking up just in time to piece together the ending. Ashley, alone, back turned, Artemis silent but forced to look on as Pythons tail came flying around. "ASH!" Dani yelled, even if she knew deep down it didn't matter. The huntress turned ever so slightly just as the massive limb slammed into her back like a freight train, breaking so many things on impact it all blended into one sickening crunch Dani had no great need to hear ever again. Ashley was flicked off her feet as easily as if Python was swatting a fly, sending her directly into a tree and to the ground, unmoving. Dani suddenly felt numb, the kind she knew far to well. It was the cold embrace of knowing, once again, someone had died on her watch. The young demigod dropped her sword and ran, not caring for the danger or even her own life as she sprinted across the open land to the lifeless body of the hunter, collapsing at the feet of someone she didn't get the chance to know and now never would. She cradled the blondes head and looked over at the snake, who was almost smiling. "Take her home little one. You'll join her soon enough one way or the other. Show her sister how you failed again." The words stung, and it hurt more because as monstrous as he was, Python was right. Amanda had been vulnerable and trusted Dani to watch her sisters back. She had failed, again. Finally the daughter of Poseidon summoned the willpower to pick up the broken body of the hunter and limp back the way she came, the walls of Artemis filling her ears as she passed. After a while they emerged from the trees, Dani feeling nothing though she tried to remember what it felt like to be attached to reality. She found Lucas and Roxie drawing up a plan, while Miles and Amanda sat shoulder to shoulder watching the bay. 'He got her to calm down. Hope he can fix this.' Dani thought as the younger hunter turned, smiling until she saw what Dani had brought her.

Then it was like looking back in time as the daughter of the sea watched the wave of emotions wash over the girl. Rage, horror, guilt, and most prominent deep heat breaking sadness. The younger girl got to her feet, tears running down her face as she ran to her sisters side, holding her head and sobbing the same guttural sound Artemis had made. Dani hated that sound. She had made that sound to often to hear it anymore. With a little more effort she managed to tune it out, hearing nothing as she headed right towards the water. She noticed Lucas and Roxie rush to Amanda. At least someone would help her. Dani wanted to go back under the waves, she couldn't drown but she hoped living underwater forever would be enough to make up for another persons blood in her hands. But as she trudged closer to the waters edge she found one thing she couldn't block out. "DANI." The mere force of her name shook the girl out of her daze as she somehow managed to turn and face Miles. He said nothing, only opened his arms and let the blonde bury herself in them, cradling the broken pieces of what used to be a whole person. "She's dead Miles...she's dead!" The blonde managed to choke out between sobs as the athlete rocked her. "No she's not Dani. She's not dead. You saved her." The blonde stopped dead, tears still flowing as she looked up at Miles then back at the group. "N-No." Dani whispered as Miles took her hand and led the sobbing girl over. And just behind Amanda bear hugging the broken ribs of her sister were the same eyes Dani had been so sure were closed for good. Distant and pained, but still very much alive. span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanThe injured hunter managed a smile at the daughter of the sea. "Sorry I didn't duck." The blonde groaned as Dani smiled through her tears. But as the group of heroes watched their half dead friend, it was hard to not notice the sudden change. Out of nowhere the wind picked up, the sky darkened, and a clap of thunder pierced the air as a new presence joined the beach. The heroes turned as the figure strode across the beach to them, his jet black mane swept back and his beard cropped close to his jaw. He was a man of strong features and he was massive, towering over all the demigods as he arrived. But as Dani stood there, something about him seemed so oddly familiar. Of the five still standing, 4 stood ready to fight the newcomer, leaving only Miles unarmed as he stepped forward until he was chest to chest with the towering figure.

Suddenly it came together for Dani. The same bravado, the aura of command and strength, even the look in their eyes was the same steely mix of fury and power and somehow compassion. Finally the man spoke. "Well son. I didn't think this would be how we finally caught up but there's hardly a good time is there?" He said and Miles smirked. "No. I guess there's not." Lucas raised an eyebrow as he lowered his gun. "Miles, who is this guy?" He asked as the massive figure looked over. "You'd do well to try and shut up son of Hermes. I'm not just some guy you can question upon arrival like Poseidon or Ares." Finally Dani took the initiative and kneeled, and begrudgingly Roxie and Lucas followed. "He isn't just some guy. That's Zeus." The daughter of the sea managed to say through her emotions. The king of the skies smiled and nodded. "Thank you Daniella. My brother speaks well of you. Glad to see none of you are dead!" Zeus declared as Ashley groaned weakly behind them. "Ah. Well I'll take care of that." The king of the Gods said pleasantly as if the dying girl behind him was just a mild inconvenience. "Well dad, did you just stop by to introduce yourself and pick up our dying friend?" Miles said, clearly uncomfortable. At this Zeus turned and raised his arms with pride. "Of course not Miles! I still have to map your destiny and inform you of your eminent death!"


	23. The False God and the Last Hunter

Miles had heard somewhere that boys who grew up without a dad often harbored some deep love for their fathers that they masked as hatred. He thought it was crap then, and it seemed to be holding true now. The athlete didn't break down and hug his long lost father, but he didn't curse him out for 16 years of convenient absence either. Miles was what he always had been towards his dad: indifferent, if now mildly interested. But you would be too if a bearded giant showed up proclaiming both your great destiny and a swift end to your life. "Destiny AND eminent death? Today really is my lucky day!" Miles snapped as his father shrugged. "There's never good timing to tell someone about their death, but I thought I'd try and give you what insight I could. My sons always face their destiny, and yours is one I've waited for for a long time." Zeus said, his voice like a rumble of thunder as he spoke. "Maybe take care of my friend before we get heavy into my fate or whatever?" Miles suggested, and the god nodded and snapped. A pair of air nymphs dressed in nurses scrubs whisked in and began treating Ashley's wounds. "She'll be fine, but she's no good to you now. I'll have her brought to camp to heal and rest. Her sister must remain, and then she'll go with you." Zeus said as Miles raised an eyebrow. "Go with me? I didn't know I was going somewhere or bringing her." The son of Zeus prodded as the King of Olympus sighed. "Well that's a bit of a long story, and so little time before Python swallows my daughter. But let's try and get through it."

"You know you were born to the Greeks, but you also know that your friends at home fight for the Romans. Your fate is intertwined with both groups, and it is written that you will be the one to slay the darkness that comes...or be slain it's fuzzy at the moment." Zeus admitted. "Darkness?" Miles asked. "Yes, darkness. The god of Darkness. Erebus has lurked in the shadows corrupting the hearts and minds of mortals for thousands of years, and now he wants to destroy everything we've built and cast the world into a millennium of darkness. Your friends will go back to Camp Half-Blood and train, but you have to go back home. With your friend gone only you can take control of the Northern Legion and protect the girl you rescued from Meidion." Zeus said, noting the confused look on his sons face. "How could she possibly be important to this? Aphrodite said you knew she was supposed to save us all but she wouldn't tell us why!" Miles pleaded, but received no answers. span class="Apple-converted-space" /span"Look. I know this is hard to grasp and it really would be easier to explain if we were standing in Detroit so I could show you, but my point is you have to go and claim your role as King of the North. The fates say that the legion, commanded by a lion, a stag, a wolf, and protected by the wings can stop Erebus. Your the lion." Zeus said as his son burst out laughing. It startled the boy to see his father still stone faced. "Wait that's not just some Game of Thrones babble?" Miles asked. "NO! Game of Thrones ripped off our entire prophecy for 7 seasons of greatness and a finale that ruined it all!" Zeus exclaimed as thunder began to gather again. "Wait a minute you can't just dump all this on me and leave! How am I supposed to kill that stupid snake!?" Miles groaned as Zeus grabbed his son by his shoulders. "It's all within you Miles! No king ever claimed his throne without proving his worth, and slaying Python is the only way the Romans will follow you! You were blessed by Thor, you were chosen by the fates to save Olympus, there's so much you already have! Use your friends, use your strength! Kill Python, take the girl and go back home marked with his blood! I'll explain everything when you meet me! Go back to where it all began! Make me proud!" Zeus commanded as with a flash of lightning, the King of Olympus and the older hunter vanished.

Miles sighed and turned, his friends facing him looking for answers. As pegged for greatness as Zeus told him he was, Miles didn't feel the power of destiny suddenly giving him super strength or a great idea to kill Python. The only thing he felt was pressure, even more then he was already under. But like so many unexplained things in his life, it could wait. "Don't even ask. I don't know, I don't want to know, I'll figure it out later." Miles admitted as he walked back to Amanda who stood up and buried her face in his chest. "She gonna be okay squirt?" The athlete asked as the hunter nodded. "A bunch of stuff is broken. They said she'll go to that camp you guys were talking about and she'll get better. I-" Amanda managed, her voice catching as Miles wrapped her up. "It's okay. She's gonna be okay." The de facto leader assured her as Amanda looked up. "Miles, what your dad said about me...what am I supposed to do?" The blonde asked and he could only shrug. "No idea Blondie. Let's kill this overgrown worm and then we'll go figure it out. You and me." Miles said as Amanda smiled. "Okay." She agreed and they pulled apart as Lucas finally spoke. "So what is our brilliant plan? Because to be honest I've got nothing." But before Miles could say anything, they heard a clap from behind them and turned to find Roxie and Dani had drawn up their own battle plan. "Gather round kids, the girls have a plan." The inventor proudly proclaimed as the others gathered around the complex sand drawings. "What is all this?" Lucas asked as Dani stood proudly over her work. "This, is the best plan we could come up with using Zeus's hints and everything we already know." The daughter of the sea explained as Miles rolled his eyes. "Hints? He spotted a bunch of nonsense at me then left, what hints?" The athlete sneered. "He wasn't spouting nonsense, he wants you to use your glowing purple awesomeness to stop Python, and that's what we're going to do, using your god strength, Lucas's magic shoes, Roxie's mech suit, Amanda's shapeshifting and the giant hole I made!" Daniella said, gesturing as the drawings with each span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanbullet point. "Alright then what's the plan?" Miles pressed, and Dani deferred to the daughter of Hephaestus. "Lucas I going to use his speed to get Pythons attention. He's going to lure him out by pretending Zeus is still here and can help us. Miles and Amanda are going to be waiting in these trees-" Roxie said, gesturing to two oaks along the path Dani and Ashley had followed. "-And when he passes by you jump on to his back. He should still have Artemis and Delphi coiled up, so Miles pulls the coil apart while Amanda gets them out. Then I fly in and grab them and Amanda, while Miles jumps off, channels Thor, and pushes him on a course to the hole Dani made, which will be exposed because Dani is going to split the bay. Python falls in the hole, Dani drops the water back and seals over the hole, he's trapped in Tartarus and we get to go home!" Roxie said triumphantly. And the others had to admit it was pretty good. "Wait why would Python come looking for Zeus? What does he care?" Lucas asked, and the inventor realized she didn't have an answer. "Huh. Your right." Roxie murmured, embarrassed at her own flaw. But before the girl could think of an answer, Amanda raised her hand. "Um, I don't know if this will help but I think I know who Python would chase. And I think Lucas can pull it off."

"This is a terrible idea." Lucas declared as he wandered into the woods, stepping over the decapitated Skotadi as he made his way to Pythons lair. Everyone else was in position, but the entire plan revolves around Lucas being something he was never very good at: loud, attention grabbing, and very visible. And to do that, the shapeshifter had been forced to mimic the most attention grabbing god of them all, Apollo. "I can't believe she just knows how to do this." The assassin grumbled as he trekked on. Amanda had shown him how to mimic people with such ease that Lucas felt like an idiot when he couldn't make it work. After a while more he figured it out, channeling his powers to blink between his friends faces. It wasn't perfect, but Lucas just had to hope it would convince Python. It wasn't easy, unlike mimicking animals Lucas had to fully concentrate on keeping up his facade, and he was doing it with the most bare minimum of details. As Amanda had so charmingly put it, "Imagine the nicest douche you could ever meet. Now double it, and make it look like this, and you've got Apollo. Also how's your freestyle poetry?" Unfortunately his 8th grade education left his poetry skills subpar, so Lucas working on a wing and prayer that Python wouldn't immediately see through him and wax the skin off his body with his breath, as the young huntress had so helpfully reminded Lucas. At the very least, if he had to pick anybody to be dissolved by monster breath he wasn't against looking like Apollo. Being tall and blonde and shredded had its advantages, just none that were very helpful in killing a ten ton snake. But as someone famous had once said, "Life is short. Drive fast and leave a sexy corpse." So if Lucas had to be incinerated by snake breath he would look good doing it. As he walked he heard a gentle rustle in the trees, and he hoped it meant Miles and Amanda had reached their spots and not more hanging bodies waiting to kill him. Lucas was sure he looked like a very holy sacrifice, and was betting on the monsters staying dead. It was a lot of improvising, but that was the one thing he was good for in this situation. And when he finally arrived in the clearing, the young assassin realized he was going to have to give the performance of his life. Because he was working with an audience of a goddess, a prophet, and a scaly sixty ton freight train with a passion for sarcasm and killing people. Those also happened to be Lucas's passions, but it was hard to appreciate his own talents when they were attached to Python. Finally he summoned his resolve and made his move.

"PYTHON!" The false god bellowed, his mimicry granting him Apollo's thundering god voice if only for a moment. As the cry echoed through the sulfuric air of the forest the massive coiled body of the beast slowly shifted until both piercing yellow eyes took in the sight of what appeared to be his oldest enemy. Lucas did his best not to joke as the volcanic scent of Pythons breath filled the air around him, the fumes making it a wonderful challenge to not vomit on his shoes. After a moment of wondering if his quest was about to be over, Python smirked and spoke. "My my. Lord Apollo graces me with his...presence. I was wondering if you would truly come or send a batch of heroes to do what you are to cowardly to fail at." Lucas tried to not to panic as he found himself face to face with the beast, trying to think about what Apollo would do. Amanda had suggested poetry. Lucas had assured her that was his absolute last resort, so he went with threats. "I have come to free my sister and restore my Oracle to its rightful glory you...foul smelling cunt!" He yelled, trying for something he thought someone old would say. Python laughed, a sound most people didn't live long enough to describe. "Your vocabulary has expanded. I always thought such vulgarity was beneath a god, but you never were much of a god anyway. And as for your prizes, well...they've been good company on this wretched rock you called home." Python meandered as another length of his body slid into view, revealing Artemis and Delphi still tightly coiled in his folds. "Brother!" Artemis called, still thrashing against her imprisonment. "Art-I mean sister! Where is your bow, or your hunters or...anything that could make this a little easier!" Lucas said hopefully, but Pythons chuckle didn't inspire hope. "Yes Apollo, her hunters came. 50 in droves, then the one who came with the daughter of the sea. Her daughter remains alive, though my dear Delphi has assured me it won't last even with your fathers aid. As for the others, well...they arrived during lunch but did not stay for supper." Python laughed as Lucas went pale, suddenly very aware of the broken bows and shredded white garments scattered around the clearing. "And the trinket your sister brought, my associate left it dangling in some tree along the path, far to high for anyone to retrieve. A bird would stand a chance, but the tree is hardly a stones throw from here. I should know, I've harmed quite a few who have come by just as a precaution. But now that my associate had departed and you seem to be the only challenge left, it hardly matters." The beast murmured. "I see. Well then I guess I should start beating you." Lucas said, but he was hardly surprised when Python stopped him. "Oh don't bother boy. The real Apollo could never harm me so I doubt you stand a chance." Python declared as the false god froze.

"B-Boy?" Lucas stammered as the snake smiled. "Of course. I've been alive for millennia and done this dance with true gods. Did you really think I couldn't tell an imposter from a god. Though I will say your mimicry is impressive." The monster said as he hissed and Lucases mist-formed disguise dissolved. "My how the ranks have thinned. Once I was challenged by whole Roman legions and demigod kings, descendants of Zeus and Hades falling before me. Now my sole resistor is an unarmed son of Hermes who reeks of death and fear. You will not be my most notable kill, Son of Hermes, but I will call you my most entertaining. The hunters have such little flair for the bold. Take solace in that, puny one." Python laughed as his maw opened, and Lucas had his last thought- "What a crappy way to die." Then, suddenly, a silver bolt flew past his shoulder and planted itself in the beasts eye. Python gave a horrific roar and thrashed about, melting the ground and flattening trees as Lucas whipped around to find Amanda, clutching her mother's bow and nocking another arrow. "That's for my sister!" The blonde shouted as she planted another one between the beasts eyes. "That's for my hunters!" She yelled as she drew back the string again, striking a third shimmering arrow in Pythons jaw. "And that ones for my mom!" After more prolonged roaring and swearing the beast finally planted his head back so he could see Lucas and Amanda out of his one good eye, ichor spilling from his wounds and as he spoke a mixture of poison and blood spattered at the demigods feet. "I was not made aware that Artemis had two daughters. I spared your sister so that the dark god could take her life for himself. I faced your hunters in combat and granted them a swift death. I have no such qualms about ending your life little star. I will kill your friends, save you for last, and make your mother watch as I melt the skin from your bones!" Python roared as Lucas grabbed Amanda. "You trees, me run, NOW!" The son of Hermes commanded as he sprinted away, sending the huntress scrambling into the trees as the beast roared and began trampling everything in his path as he came after them.


	24. It's Time to go Home

Amanda was a person who had very few qualms with her life. Despite being banished from an immortal sisterhood of excellence and being shunned by her mom, the young girl had to admit things weren't as bad as Ashley tended to make them out to be. She still had her sister, her powers, a place to sleep if she wanted to see her dad, and a blossoming bout of puppy love with more than a few people. But throughout her life Amanda had felt that she was still missing the chance to prove herself, to right the wrongs she had made and craft a better legacy then the one of a hunter who had betrayed her own for one sweet moment. Putting a sacred moon bolt in Python's eye seemed like the best place to start. It had hardly been a detour, the bow happened to be in the tree she was supposed to be in when Python was going to come under her. A quick change to a partridge had led her to the highest branches of the oak, and from there she could reach the glistening weapon that Amanda knew she wasn't supposed to use. She hadn't had time to consider the consequences of using a goddesses weapon without asking, because from her perch she could hear the snake reveal his knowledge of Lucas's treachery. And she couldn't let him get broiled alive so Python could swallow her mom in peace and quiet now could she?

But there was little time for Amanda to recount the choices that led her as she continued free-running across the trees, with branches so woven together they almost seemed to form a floor. It made her escape a lot easier, which was great because just about every time she left a tree it was crushed under Pythons massive form as he chased Lucas through the winding passages and over the remains of the Skotadi. That part of the plan was going really well. Finally Amanda caught sight of the marker she had left, a tree with an arrow sized hole burned through it from testing the bow. "NOW!" The hunter yelled as she leapt off the trees and on to the moving truncation below her. Thankfully Miles had been waiting for his cue and dropped down next to her, eyes brimming with questions. "What happened! Where did you go and why is he suddenly so pissed?!" The athlete asked as Amanda shrugged and gestured at the bow slung over her shoulder. "He was talking smack so I shot him in the face, it's not important!" The blonde exclaimed and Miles conceded. "Where are they?" He asked as Amanda suddenly noticed a single stand of moon lace glimmering between Pythons scales, her mother's sacred plant. "That way!" Amanda declared as the two took off. Their sprint brought them to a thick coil of the snake, and from where they were standing they could see Python still furiously chasing Lucas. Still wound in the coil were Delphi and Artemis, who was now clearly annoyed her rescue had gone awry. "Send a demigod to do his job, what kind of fool is my brother to send boys to do a girls job! I knew he would screw it up!" The goddess groaned as her rescuers finally arrived. "Huh. Yeah their really still stuck." Miles assessed as Artemis rolled her eyes. "Oh good, I'm saved by a bumbling mountain of useless and my disgrace of a daughter!" Artemis laughed as Amanda rolled her eyes. "Nice to see you too mom. We'll talk about this later." The blonde said, trying to placate the furious goddess. "Yes we will. Now free us so I can tear Python apart!" Artemis exclaimed as Miles tried to force the coil apart. "This isn't working!" The athlete yelled as Amanda punched his arm. "Of course it's not you aren't even trying! Use that stupid purple magic and pull you jackass!" The hunter commanded and Miles obliged. The towering boy was surrounded by a deep purple aura as Thor's might coursed through his veins, the Gods mighty cry splitting Miles head as he granted him power. "PUT YER BACK INTO IT YA LAZY MUTTON MUNCHING GREEK! I'LL HAVE THAT LITTLE WITCH IN CHAINS IF SHE MOUTHS OFF AGAIN!" Thor shouted wildly in a voice only Miles could hear. The son of Zeus roared and in one great feat of strength pulled the massive coil apart, sending the tail end flapping wildly back into the distance as Amanda grabbed her mom and the spirit of Prophecy.

"Thanks!" Delphi cheered as she was suddenly vaporized in a beam of sunlight. "Oh my gods I killed Delphi!" Amanda screamed as the moon goddess sighed. "No my sweet simple girl, that is my brother with what I believe will be his only contribution to the fight." Artemis groaned as she finally stood, feeling the circulation return to her limbs. "Oh. Uh, here." Amanda said sheepishly, holding the bow out to her mother. Artemis responses by plucking another from thin air. "A good huntress never loses her weapon Amanda. I left that there on purpose. I was going to save it for your birthday but I think saving me warrants presents today." The goddess said as her daughter perked up. "Mom you haven't celebrated my birthday in years. It's today." Amanda said and Artemis laughed. "I had a feeling. Now I'll go take care of this, why don't you take your...friend here and get out of danger." The goddess said, distastefully looking at Miles. "You have to got to be kidding." He growled, still radiating power as Artemis headed to Pythons head. "What would you have me do boy?" The goddess pressed, and Amanda could almost feel Miles snap. " _What would I have you DO?"_ Miles yelled, but the young blonde stepped in. "Mom, stop it! He came to save you, and I know you think I'm defending him because of what happened but there is something I have to tell you about that! But before I do, I'M going to see to it that this stupid snake dies today!" Amanda yelled, reaching for her bow. And at the end of her fiery speech Amanda watched as her mom smiled and stepped back. "I always knew you would. And believe me, I know more then you think Amanda. Make me proud." The goddess chucked as she vanished in a beam of moonlight. "What does she know more about?" Miles asked, and Amanda sighed. "It's not important! Let's go!"

The two heroes continued running along the still moving length of Pythons body as he began to bear the crest of the island. Above Roxie was zipping around in her mech raining rockets and plasma fire on the snake as she passed, and Lucas was still racing along. It was clear though that they were off course, the crater Dani had formed to the left of their current position. "Are you sure this is gonna work?!" Amanda yelled as Miles peered over the side of the snake. "Nope!" He laughed as he hugged the hunter and jumped off the side. She watched as Miles took a few steps to catch his balance before driving his shoulder into the side of Python. The beast roared as the trajectory was slowly altered until he was on a direct course. "INSOLENT MORTALS I WILL SWALLOW YOU ALL!" Python bellowed as he suddenly crashed into the hole face first, his neck making a sickening crack as the weight of his own body crushed him on the way down. At the last moment Amanda jumped off and finally saw Dani, her necklace glowing fiercely as she used her sword to focus her water bending, keeping herself aloft on a spout as the rest of the bay churned and frothed above her. Finally the blonde swung her blade down and led the bay drive down in a torrential swirl of fury, crushing the massive snake underneath it with such force that the backsplash of energy shattered the golden blade in her hands. Amanda then watched as Dani began plummeting towards the sea. "Miles!" Lucas yelled as he collapsed on the beach, exhausted. "I'm on it!" The son of Zeus groaned as he took two steps and burst off the ground, intercepting the unconscious daughter of the sea and jetting back just in time to heroically pass out. "I'm so tired." Lucas groaned as Roxie set her suit down next to her friend. "Oh yeah! Who's the best monster hunters around!" We're the best!" The daughter of Hephaestus cheered as she ran circles around her drained companions. Amanda snickered and sat next to Miles, who suddenly looked up. "Are you...are you chewing gum right now?" The boy asked, and she realized she still had her gum after all the action. "Huh. Yeah I like to chew when I'm freaking out. See?" The blonde said as she stuck her tongue out, revealing it was stained blue from the gum. "Is that blue raspberry big league?" Miles asked, and the girl nodded. "That's the only flavor I like, and no one else likes it." The boy laughed, and Amanda pulled out her pack. "To weird coincidences and leading an army." She chuckled as he filled his jaw. "To weird coincidences and leading an army." Miles agreed as he laid back. After a few moments of silence the lie heard footsteps in the sand and looked up to find the group wasn't alone. Artemis strolled across the beach like she owned it, moonlace growing where she stepped and the tides gently rising in and out behind her. The goddess arrived and raised an eyebrow at the scene. "This is not much of a welcoming party. My brother would be appalled." Artemis snickered as Amanda stood up, pulling the rest to their feet. "Sorry Lady Artemis, it took a lot out of us." Dani admitted as the 5 demigods took their audience with the goddess. "As it should. Python is an ancient foe, powerful and deadly. Even with all your strength I doubt you could have killed him. But you did the next best thing, which is trapping him in Tartarus. With any luck, Hades will keep a better eye on him. Now then, since you saved me and have slain Python to the best of your ability, I have come to bestow your rewards." Artemis said as she snapped and 4 white oak chests appeared, each ridged with diamonds and emblazoned with a lock in the shape of the 4 gods represented: a lightning bolt, a trident, a caduceus staff, and a hammer. "I hope this suffices as payment for freeing me. The magic is attuned to grant what you most desire as a reward." Artemis said as the 4 approached their chests. As they reached the threshold the boxes opened, revealing what the 4 each most desired as a reward. "MONEY!" Lucas and Miles exclaimed together as the chests revealed more money then they had ever seen. The boys feel to their knees and hugged each other, filling their hands with the freshly bound Benjamin's. "I can't feel the bottom!" Lucas said happily, tossing loose bills in the air and hugging the chest. "And my mom told me I'd never find a magic money chest!" Miles laughed as Dani gasped. The girl reached in and revealed a glimmering golden trident, weighted for her and radiating power. "It's just like my dads." The blonde whispered as she swung the weapon, giggling like a kid. "Poseidon's idea. He said that sword was cheap and there would be no weapon finer for his daughter then one built after his own." Artemis explained. Finally Roxie gasped and squealed with joy. "SPIDER-GWEN!" The youngest demigod squealed as she lifted up the heroines costume. "Your father had it made. He said he would see about getting a movie made for her." Artemis said as the girl squirmed her way in to the costume and, with the skill of a veteran, web-swung through the trees. "THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!" Roxie screamed as she went zipping around to her hearts content. Finally Artemis turned and faced her daughter, once a disgrace and in her sisters shadow now a hero and in a league of her own. "Amanda long ago I took something from you. I mistrusted my daughter, a girl I could never do anything but love, and I sent you away when you needed me most. I praised your sister over you, I left your mortal and vulnerable over what I thought I knew. And that is not what I know now." Artemis began and Amanda blushed. "You know about...Chris?" The hunter stammered, and the goddess smiled. "I don't know about Chris. I do know about a Carly though." Artemis snickered as her daughter squirmed. "Oh..." Amanda whined as the moon goddess gently placed her hand on her daughters shoulder. "Amanda I judged you before I knew the truth, and I acted without knowing. I trusted my hunters over my daughter. Now I have no hunters to tell me how to think, and I have only my daughter, who kept loyal even when her only sister wavered in her opinion of me. You loved me after I turned you away, and now it seems we're all we have." Artemis said as the young girls eyes brimmed with hope. "Does this mean I can be a hunter again?" Amanda said hopefully, and the goddesses tears betrayed her. "No, but it is not because of your actions. Amanda you are to important, to beautiful and powerful and strong to be contained by the rules of the hunt. You can't be just one of my hunters. You have to be free to see the world and meet your destiny and make love with whoever you choose! You aren't a hunter Amanda. You are the huntress, the stag in the stars, and you are my beautiful perfect daughter. And I want to give you what I stole." Artemis said through her tears, producing a silvery tiara the blonde knew well. "Amanda I name you huntress of the Gods, princess of the wild and grant you the immortality of my blessing. Carry my name, carry my bow, and carry my love." Artemis spoke as she placed the tiara on the girls head and a silvery aura surrounded her, sealing the blessing. Both embraced and after a moment they separated. "Now you and the son of the skies must say your farewells. I must attend to your sister. Fare thee well heroes. Darkness grows and it must be stopped." Artemis declared and in a burst of light she vanished. After a moment the five came to the awkward conclusion that it was time to split up. "So...you guys are off?" Dani asked and Miles nodded. "Yeah. Stuff to do, places to be, y'know." Miles agreed as Amanda stood by awkwardly. "It's been wild." Lucas murmured. Finally Roxie broke the ice and hugged Miles. "Good luck Miles." The smallest demigod said as she let go. She was followed by Dani, who had no words but she didn't need any. After a moment the athlete turned and found Lucas, who only extended his hand. "Try not to get yourself killed Sparky." The assassin chuckled as Miles shook his. "I make no promises." The son of Zeus laughed as he grabbed his reward and walked back to Amanda. With a silent prayer a bolt of lightning struck and the two were gone, off on their own quest. After a moment, Roxie sighed and hugged her remaining friends. "Welp, I've got a date with a wolf. Catch you guys when the world needs saving." The girl declared as she jumped into her mech and jetted off, leaving on Lucas and Dani behind. Finally he sighed. "Well then Princess. Wanna get me off this rock so we can go back to our weird little camp and save the world again?" Lucas asked as he extended his hands and after a moment Dani held it. "Sounds like a plan scumbag." She laughed as the waves enveloped them, leaving the island behind.


End file.
